


Volume Two: The Beckoning of Shadows

by gins_potter



Series: Winx Club Re-Written [2]
Category: Winx Club
Genre: 4kids, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Character Death, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Winx-club retelling, Yes it Is, is this just bloom becoming progressively more feral?, rai - Freeform, so much fucking angst, why yes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 71,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gins_potter/pseuds/gins_potter
Summary: The battle is over, they've won, and Bloom Peters knows she should feel on top of the world right now.But she just doesn't.Haunted by the memories of last year, Bloom returns to Alfea with a darkness growing within her that scares and taunts her.  With new friends to make, new threats lurking, and a mysterious new teacher with a charming smile, Bloom is determined to convince everyone - including herself - that she's still in control.Part two of my Winx Club retelling for teenage audiences.
Relationships: Bloom/Sky (Winx Club), Brandon/Stella (Winx Club), Flora/Helia (Winx Club), Musa/Riven (Winx Club), Tecna/Timmy (Winx Club)
Series: Winx Club Re-Written [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/853292
Comments: 92
Kudos: 200





	1. The Shadow Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babies, guess who's back :D
> 
> What a motherfucking year 2020 has been, am I right? I feel like I've aged a million years in 6 months and particularly as an Aussie between the bushfires, COVID-19, and now the #BLM movement, (not to mention just life as a uni student) it feels like I've barely had a second to breathe. I hope you're all doing okay, I know shit's been tough so if anyone needs to vent feel free to drop something in the comment section.
> 
> Alright, on with the fic. As always, let's start with some housekeeping things:
> 
> \- Immediately after finishing vol.1 and before i even started planning this vol. i did a massive edit of the first vol. it's not strictly necessary to re-read vol.1 before reading this second fic, it's mostly minor changes, grammatical stuff, tightening up the lore a lil bit.
> 
> \- next, this fic is completely planned out. something i didn't do with vol.1 that i really regretted was doing a really detailed outline with where the fic was headed. and i think that really hurt me in terms of editing later. so i took the time this time to do a detailed plan for every chapter which is why it took me a little longer than i was expecting to actually get writing. but i'm in a really good place now and i'm ready to go.
> 
> \- with the last fic i think i tended to update once a month and as far as i can predict that will probs be the same for this one. sometimes more regularly, sometimes less, just depends on what life is doing i guess.
> 
> \- re. this chapter it's kind of a monster (about 17k total) so sorry for that? or you're welcome lmao. depending on whether you like long chapters or not.
> 
> \- big thanks to Drops for letting me take inspo from his pixie redesigns. if you haven't check out his stuff get on tumblr right tf now, his url is Drops-of-moonlights.
> 
> \- inspo pics for Tecna's hair and the girls dresses are on my tumblr (gins-potter)
> 
> I think that's everything? Let me know if there's anything that you think needs to be tagged, i'm terrible at that sort of thing, and as always let me know what you thought in the comments.

Bloom felt her heart stop dead in her chest when Icy strolled, cool as could be, through the front door of the shop. The long hair, pale as ice and spilling down her back was the same, the tall, slender frame, the same, and when she turned to look at Bloom, it was with the exact same cruel smirk and cold eyes. Same, it was all the same.

A small noise of protest escaped Bloom and even though Icy made no movement towards her the redhead felt frozen in place. She couldn’t move, couldn’t transform, couldn’t do anything but stand there as icy terror spread over her body. Her fingers dug into the counter in front of her, the only movement she could muster as that frigidness pressed in on her, making it feel as if walls of ice were encasing her.

Air rasped in and out of Bloom’s throat as Icy took a step towards her, and all of a sudden her breath caught completely. She couldn’t breathe.  _ She couldn’t breathe. She was going to die. She couldn’t breathe. She was going to- _

“Hey B, shell these peas for me, would you?” The voice was loud and sudden behind her, and it, along with the accompanying thud of a heavy box being dropped onto the counter, made Bloom almost jump out of her skin. The cold air suddenly vanished and air whooshed back into her lungs as she glanced over her shoulder to see her tall and gangly co-worker standing there expectantly. Heart thudding, she turned back to the door but Icy was gone, a customer standing in her place.

Bloom breathed out, heart slowing. The resemblance wasn’t even that similar; the customer’s hair was fair like Icy’s but more a caramel than the witch’s white-blonde, and the woman was definitely too short. More than that, she certainly wasn’t standing, smirking threateningly at Bloom, but was wandering down the first aisle, completely oblivious to the redhead’s abating terror.

“Bloom?” Marco asked. “You okay?”

Bloom twisted around, running a shaking hand over her hair, before forcing herself to smile, and nod. “Yeah, of course. Just zoned out for a second there,” she added, chuckling tightly. “And yeah, I can do those. It’s not too busy.”

Aside from the customer who definitely didn’t look like Icy, the Genero Fruit and Vegetable Shop was empty, which wasn’t unusual since it was the middle of a weekday. Bloom knew that it would get busy again in a couple of hours when the 9-5 work day ended and all the harried parents came through after picking their kids up from their various summer programs, but for now she had time on her hands. Not that Bloom would be here when that happened; she’d drawn the short straw and had helped open the store at six that morning so she got the afternoon off.

Bloom moved to the empty side of her station, where she could shell the peas but still be near enough to serve any customers who came through her register, expecting Marco to get on with his own work out the back. But he didn’t immediately move away. She swiped her hands with sanitiser before grabbing one of the peas and sliding her nail neatly along it’s edge, splitting it open. Surprising her, Marco grabbed his own, and together they tipped the tiny round peas into another waiting container before dumping the now empty pods into the bin. It wasn’t particularly exciting work, but there was something comforting in the banality of it all, something for her hands to do while she thought.

Not that she was thinking about much, as she was too preoccupied with  _ not  _ thinking about what had happened just a few minutes ago. Instead of letting herself be consumed by it, she casted a quick sidelong look at Marco, wondering what he was still doing there. Marco was tall, tanned, and cute. Cute in the obvious kind of way, with dimples and a smile that always reached his eyes, that one couldn’t help but notice even if they weren’t particularly interested. Unconsciously, Bloom felt herself relax a bit and start to smile in return.

“So, there’s this party tomorrow night,” he began, eyes fixed firmly on the peas he was shelling methodically.

Ah, Bloom thought, that was what he was after, and she felt her brief smile start to slip.

“It’s a kind of last night of summer hurrah slash back to school thing,” he added. “Probably lame.” He was speaking faster now, and Bloom thought he was nervous. “But I was wondering if you wanted to come.”

“Oh, that’s really nice of you, Marco. And it sounds fun. But I’m going back to school tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, right,” Marco mumbled, ripping another pea pod open.

Bloom bit her lip, worried she’d hurt his feelings.

“Wait, so today’s your last day then?” He glanced at her, his dark, shaggy hair sliding over his forehead.

“Yeah, my shift ends in a little bit, then I’m done for the summer.”

Marco’s dark eyes lit up. “My shift’s only an hour longer, maybe we could do something this afternoon instead.”

Bloom wavered, trying to decide if she would be nice and accept, or try and explain gently that after getting up at the crack of dawn to make it to her shift on time, all she wanted to do after this was go home and collapse on her bed. She was saved having to come up with an answer by the sudden appearance of her friend Mackenzie, who also worked there.

“Marco! What are you doing out here? Nonno’s out back looking for you,” she told her cousin, referring to their grandfather, Mr Genero, who owned the store.

“I’m going,” Marco grumbled back, pushing away from the counter. But he hesitated, probably waiting for an answer from Bloom about his proposition.

“Now,” Mackenzie said impatiently. She was only six months older than her cousin but she loved lording it over him every chance she got, especially at work.

Marco cut her a dark look but didn’t wait any longer, loping away on his long legs and pushing through a door marked ‘Staff Only’. Mackenzie watched him go before slipping behind Bloom’s register to serve the customer she hadn’t even noticed lining up. Having worked at the store since she was old enough to see over the counter, Mackenize got the customer’s items scanned and bagged faster than Bloom ever could have and sent the woman on her way with a chirpy, “Have a nice day.”

Then it was just the two of them.

“Boy’s got it bad,” Mackenzie said under her breath as she joined Bloom at the peas and began shelling them with a speed only someone who’d been doing it for her entire life could possess. “He’s gonna be heartbroken when you go back to school.”

Bloom blinked in surprise. She wasn’t the type to presume but she’d had an idea that Marco had a bit of a thing for her. Still, her friend wasn’t exactly known for being subtle so she didn’t quite know what Mackenzie was getting at with the comment.

“Mack,” she began uncertainly. “I didn’t mean to lead him on or anything.”

Mackenzie blinked and shook her head. “Nah, B, I didn’t mean it like that. I know you’ve got your guy back at school.”

Bloom scoffed a little at her word choice, but knowing her friend as she did, didn’t bother to argue. As it was, she didn’t know what exactly she and Sky were now. They still hadn’t talked about the kiss they’d shared at the end of the school year - even if Bloom hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it - but they’d talk about nearly everything else, texting or calling each other nearly every day of the break. There’d even been some nights, where plagued by terrible nightmares about the Army of Decay, Bloom had found herself reaching for her phone to call him.

“Be nice to him, will you?” she said instead of any of that. “I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings.”

Mackenzie rolled her eyes half-heartedly. “He’ll be fine. Alright, I’ll be nice,” she said, when Bloom only raised her eyebrows at her. “You must be almost finished with your shift.”

Bloom glanced at the time on the register. “Five minutes,” she said, torn between relief for her sore feet, and sadness that this will be her last shift at the store. It hadn’t been a particularly exciting summer but after the school year she’d had it had been just what she’d needed.

“Five minutes before you break my heart,” a boisterous voice said from behind them and they both turned to find Mr Genero standing there, a wide grin on his face.

Mackenzie and Bloom both laughed, and the redhead shook her head fondly at her boss. “I think you’ll survive without me, sir.”

“I’m not so sure,” Mr Genero said with a faux suspicious look at his grand-daughter. Mackenzie poked her tongue out at him and laughed. “You’ve been a wonder, Bloom,” he said, pressing her last paycheck, as well as a plain brown paper bag into her hands.

“My Nonna made you some cannolis,” Mackenzie told her, explaining the delicious scent wafting from the bag.

“Tell her thank you for me.” 

Mr Genero assured her he would, and Bloom retrieved her backpack from behind the counter, before waving goodbye to her boss while Mackenzie walked her out.

“Coming to the rink later?” Mackenzie asked hopefully.

“I’ve got to pack,” Bloom reminded her, and Mackenzie dimmed a little, before shrugging with a smile.

They’d had their last roller derby match the week before - ending the season with a win - but had spent all their free time since then at the rink. Her friends would continue to muck around and train there until the winter when hopefully they would have enough teams for a couple tournaments. Bloom had gone with them the day before, saying goodbye to them as she knew she wouldn’t have enough time after her shift or the next morning to see them again before she went back to Alfea.

“Stay in touch, yeah?” Mackenzie said with a brief hug, her friend never the type to draw out a goodbye.

“Of course,” Bloom said, and unlocked her bike from the rack. She swung her leg over and rode off for home, waving goodbye to Mackenzie until she turned the corner out of sight.

Bloom considered the Marco situation as she rode, still feeling a little bad that his feelings had been hurt. She hadn’t been completely oblivious to his feelings during the summer and while what she told Mackenzie was true and she hadn’t meant to lead him on, she knew she also hadn’t discouraged his feelings either. It had felt nice to have someone smile at her and be friendly without all the extra drama that seemed to surround her when she was at Alfea. Despite that, Bloom knew it never would have gone much further than a few smiles; even talking to him she hadn’t been able to stop herself from comparing Marco to Sky, noting that Sky was taller and more filled out in that hero way. And more than that, talking to Marco didn’t make her feel like butterflies were swarming in her stomach like it did when she was with Sky.

Feeling worse than ever, Bloom finally got back to her house and left her bike in the garage before heading inside. She fixed herself a quick sandwich for lunch, knowing she didn’t have long before she had to be online for her next session with Rhonwen, and took it to the dining room table where her laptop was sitting.

Pulling up the connectix website, Bloom distractedly took a bite of her sandwich while flicking through the messages that had accumulated during her shift. Most of them were from her friend’s group chat, mostly just confirming that they were all planning on getting to Alfea around midday with plenty of time to spare before the commencement assembly in the afternoon and the back to school dance they were having afterwards.

Still having a few minutes before her session with Rhonwen and lacking anything to do, Bloom idly scrolled through her feed, liking the herbal tea recipes that Flora had posted, and commenting on a picture that someone in her class had put up from the dance at the end of last year.

The next post was from the official account of the band that Bloom vaguely remembered as one that Musa’s dad managed and who she was accompanying on their tour over the summer. Musa had been tagged in the post, explaining why it had turned up on Bloom’s feed, and she smiled as she read the caption and saw the video attached.

> **@L.I.G.H.T**
> 
> We finally found a spare minute to witness @music_is_my_air’s legendary talents and she blew us away with a cover of one of our songs!

Bloom clicked play on the video and Musa came into view, perched atop a piano and smiling as she nodded her head gently in time with her gentle guitar strumming.

“ _ I come home in the morning light _

_ And my mother says, ‘When you gonna live your life right?’ _

_ Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones.” _

One of the band members joined in with a light drum beat and the song grew faster, Musa’s smile and confidence growing as the other members whooped and started moving to the music.

_ “And girls, they wanna have fun _

_ Oh girls just want to have fun.” _

“Yeah, girl,” the drummer cheered, as Musa continued playing the guitar, waiting for the next verse.

_ “The phone rings in the middle of the night _

_ My father yells, "What you gonna do with your life?" _

_ Oh daddy dear, you know you're still number one _

_ But girls, they wanna have fun _

_ Oh girls just want to have.” _

The band’s two singers joined Musa for the chorus, contributing beautiful harmonies but letting Musa’s voice take centre stage.

_ “That's all they really want _

_ Some fun _

_ When the working day is done _

_ Oh girls, they wanna have fun _

_ Oh girls just wanna have fun.” _

Letting the video continue to play, Bloom scrolled down to the comment section, seeing that most of her friends had left messages already, complimenting Musa. Her eyes skimmed over the messages looking for one name in particular but while she couldn’t see one from Riven, she did notice that he had liked the video, and the knowledge made her smile for her friend. Underneath her friend’s comments, there were hundreds more from users who followed the band’s accounts and Bloom’s heart soared at seeing all the complimentary messages that had been left.

She scrolled back up just in time to catch the end of the video, watching as the band cheered and clapped for a grinning Musa and feeling a strange pang of envy go through her at the unabashed joy on her friend’s face. Not that she begrudged Musa her happiness, she just wished that she could get over everything from last year as easily as Musa clearly was.

Bloom had put on a good face for her parents, and Sky, and her friends, but the truth was no matter how much she talked it over with Rhonwen and how much she told herself it wasn’t her fault, the guilt, and the nightmares, and the visions during the day refused to leave her. 

Bloom stood, feeling abruptly and irrationally angry, angry at herself, angry at the Trix, angry at the world for turning her into this. She didn’t want to be this girl wracked with guilt over what someone else had done, she didn’t want to be still upset about Asterin’s death when it seemed everyone else was getting over it, she didn’t want to be left behind as everyone else moved on from this. And most of all, Bloom really didn’t want to talk about all this for the umpteenth time with Rhonwen, having to sit there and listen as the healer told her over and over that everything she was feeling was normal.

So, despite the fact Rhonwen’s video call was scheduled for less than a minute, Bloom strode back over to her laptop and slammed the lid shut, before storming out of the room and upstairs where she could throw herself into bed and hopefully stop thinking about it for a while.

Musa couldn’t help but smile as she scrolled through the connectix comments on the video of her that L.I.G.H.T had posted. She hadn’t even realised someone had been filming them until she got the notification, and the subsequent ones as the band’s army of fans started commenting on it.

> **@fairygirlalyssa**
> 
> @L.I.G.H.T @music_is_my_air @Coralia88 DID YOU SEE THIS? WHO IS SHE?
> 
> **@Coralia88**
> 
> @L.I.G.H.T @music_is_my_air @fairygirlalyssa idk but i love anyone who gets them to sing this song again. they haven’t played it in ages.
> 
> **@shininglightjareth**
> 
> @L.I.G.H.T @music_is_my_air @fairygirlalyssa @Coralia88 Whoever she is, she has a great voice. I’ve never seen anyone but Al herself hit notes like that.
> 
> **@LilliLightFan**
> 
> @L.I.G.H.T @music_is_my_air give me more collabs i need more of this!!!
> 
> **@WaylinWitches**
> 
> @L.I.G.H.T @music_is_my_air Loved seeing the behind the scenes fun, and what a kickass voice.

Musa scrolled through for another few minutes, liking all the comments her friends had posted, as well as a bunch more from random users before the click of the door opening drew her attention. She shoved her phone into her hoodie pocket and made to stand but the healer gestured for her to remain seated, before wheeling over his own chair so he could sit in front of Musa where she was perched on the edge of the examination table.

“So, how’s the wing been feeling?”

“Good,” Musa said truthfully, thinking about the brief test flight she’d been allowed to go on the day before.

“And you’ve been doing your exercises?”

“Morning and night.”

Musa had been vigilant about doing them every day while she’d been on tour with her dad and the band he managed. Wings were like an extra limb for fairies, one that allowed them to fly, and Musa didn’t know how she’d cope if her wing had been injured permanently.

“I wish all my patients were this attentive to their exercises. How about we get you transformed and take one final look?”

It always felt a little weird for Musa when she tried to transform when there wasn’t any imminent danger present but it only took a moment of concentration for the change to occur. Her hoodie and jeans disappeared and were instantly replaced with her glittery red minidress, headphones, and wings. The healer wasted no time in rounding the table to examine her right wing with quick, perfunctory touches, feeling along where the previously torn section of her wing had healed.

“It’s healed beautifully,” the healer commented, moving back around to face her and gesturing for her to change back. “It should be as strong, if not more so than before the injury.”

“Thank you,” Musa said, jumping off the edge of the table.

“You are very welcome,” the healer said, walking her to the door. “Just try not to end up back in my office.”

“You got it.” Musa gave him a jovial salute and hightailed it out of there, eager to get home and share the good news with her dad.

Except when she bounded up the front steps of their home and pushed open the front door, it was to find the house cold, and dark, and empty.

“Baba?” she called out, walking through the house and flicking on lights as she went. “Baba, are you here?”

She reached the kitchen, finding it just as empty as the rest of the house, except for the note left on the counter. Sighing, Musa reached for it, a bad feeling in her stomach that she wasn’t going to like whatever it said. The note informed her, in her dad’s elegant handwriting, that he’d been pulled away to deal with a scandal with one of his other bands and he didn’t expect to be back before she left for Alfea. ‘ _ Have a good term and keep your grades up,’  _ came the completely impersonal ending of the note.

“Thanks Baba,” Musa said sarcastically, crumpling the note up and pitching it across the kitchen. “I love you too.”

For a moment Musa just stood there, listening to the trickle of water in the nearby stream through the open window, before, not knowing what else to do, she pulled out her phone and brought up the connectix app. The first thing she saw was the sunny landscape of a Solarian beach posted by Stella, with an equally positive caption underneath. 

Musa tapped the heart button but before she could scroll any further her phone buzzed with an incoming video call, a picture of Riven’s scowling face replacing her connectix feed. She felt her lips turn up in a small smile as she clicked accept. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so terrible after all.

Stella watched the likes and comments on her latest photo pile in with a sort of detached interest, before sighing and scrolling back up to the picture she’d posted. It was admittedly a good shot, a glimpse of her pale blue bikini bottoms, long brown legs stretched out on immaculate, pale sand which lead down to the crystalline waters of the ocean. Her caption matched the picture, light, and happy, and breezy, joking about how she didn’t want to trade this view for a classroom tomorrow when in reality she couldn’t wait to get away from this place.

She dug her hands into the sand, clenching them into fists around the fine grains, before abruptly relaxing them again, letting the powdery sand trickle out between her fingers. Stella considered the flat expanse of the water, the ocean experiencing a lull between swells and debated going back in. Usually her trips to the beach were about lying around, working on her tan, and being comforted by the taste of the salty air. Long gone were the days where she’d spend hours in the water, swimming, and playing, and learning to surf from her father, those things losing their appeal as she’d grown older and started to appreciate her hair, makeup, and swimsuits for their aesthetic application. But some days when there was a lot on her mind, Stella liked to disappear between the waves once more and forget herself for a while.

Like today.

She sighed and swept her hands over the sand, absently smoothing it over and disrupting it again while thinking about what she had to do today. Seeing her mother off to Celestia would usually be a non-event, her mother visited her home planet frequently, except this time Luna was going because the divorce had been finalised, and this time she wouldn’t be coming back.

For the umpteenth time Stella wished her internship with Teen Fairy hadn’t finished last week. It had been a blessing to have a reason not to be in the palace all summer, forced to watch as her mother’s things were packed up and shipped off while her parents quibbled about who was getting what. Stella was sure that the internship and going to see Brandon had been the only things to get her through the summer with her insanity intact.

In a rare show of agreement, both her parents had thought her internship at Teen Fairy had been a good idea, and would give her some real world skills and experiences before she inevitably assumed the Solarian throne one day. Stella’s motivations had been more about keeping herself busy and away from the palace, but the internship had had the added benefit of working in an industry she was actually passionate about.

Stella’s phone beeped on the sand beside her and she glanced at it to see a connectix notification informing her that Flora had posted yet another herbal tea recipe. She almost scoffed at the sight before remembering that she had tried one or two of them over the summer break and had actually found them quite comforting. Stella smiled a bit and almost picked up her phone to message Flora exactly that when a voice spoke from behind her.

“Your Highness? It’s time.”

Stella didn’t need to twist around to know that it was one of her ladies-in-waiting.

“I’ll be up in a moment, Rita,” she said, dismissal clear in her voice. She winced; Rita had been assisting Stella for longer than she could remember. The fairy was a few years older, and they looked similar enough that they could be mistaken for sisters, and in some ways Stella did think of her as one. “Sorry,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “I’ll be there soon, I promise.”

Rita smiled and bobbed in a curtsey, graceful despite the sand beneath her heeled feet. “Very good, Your Highness. I’ll have everything laid out ready.”

A subtle reminder that time was running out but Stella let it go without comment, waiting until Rita had disappeared up the beach in the direction of the castle in the distance before standing herself. She brushed the sand from her skin, bent to pick up her things, but paused midway.

“Oh screw it,” she muttered, straightening, and yanking her surfboard from the sand and heading back for the water. “A few more minutes isn’t going to kill them.”

Flora dragged in a deep breath letting the sweet scents along with the warm tea she was drinking soothe her. She was sitting at a table out on what passed for a city street in Linphea; a handful of shops all in a row, interspersed with great, tall trees, with thick trunks, and flowering branches. One of the sweet smelling flowers suddenly drifted down to land on the table in front of her, and smiling, Flora touched the fragile petal with a gentle finger.

She’d always liked the dichotomy of life and death in flowers; they were often associated with spring and new life, and yet their lifespans could be achingly short, some as short as a single day. It had been good for her, Flora thought, to be back on Linphea where everything was thought to be part of a great circle. Asterin’s life had been too short, but Flora needed to believe that that was for a reason or else she felt like screaming.

Calm mood abruptly gone, Flora tossed a few gold coins down on the cafe to pay for her tea and stood, making her way back to the aroma-magic shop she’d been working in for the summer. She reached the end of the lane and turned the corner, the flowers overhead fading from a deep violet into a gentle rose pink. Flora was walking along, idly trailing a hand along the vines creeping across a storefront, when she saw Liliana. Her ex-girlfriend was leaving a store just across the way and as she stepped out onto the cobblestones Flora saw Liliana turn her head in her direction. Then in a very un-Flora fashion she pretended she didn’t see Liliana’s wave, and hurried down the street, dashing into the aroma-magic store.

She shut the door quickly, cringing as the bell overhead rang, and leant back against it, thinking about the first time she’d seen Liliana that summer.

_ “You’ve been home for two weeks, you need to get out of this room.” _

_ Flora snuggled down further into her bed, half pulling the blanket over her head in an attempt to avoid her mother’s eyes. “I don’t want to.” _

_ Her mother sighed and came to sit on the edge of her bed, running a gentle hand over her hair. “Oh honey, it really isn’t that bad.” _

_ Flora ignored her, turning her head into the pillow. “It is,” she mumbled. The bandages had finally come off, but even with the healing cream a Linphean healer had given her, the scar Stormy had left was still red and raw looking. “They all just stare at me.” _

_ “They stare because they heard how bravely you fought, and they’re in awe of you.” _

_ Flora privately disagreed but she didn’t want to argue with her mother further, so she pulled herself out of bed. “I’ll go get those things from the market,” she said, trying not to sound petulant, and Flora heard her mother sigh quietly before leaving. She dressed quickly and left the house, grateful that neither her sister nor father were around to witness her bad mood. _

_ A bad mood that didn’t improve when she hopped off the ladder leading up to her house and turned around to find Liliana also standing at the base. _

_ “Oh, hi,” Flora mumbled, ducking her head so her hair slid across her face in a poor attempt to cover her scar. _

_ “Hi. I was just coming to see you.” _

_ “Really?” Flora said distantly. “That’s nice. But I was just on my way to the markets.” _

_ Liliana didn’t seem to hear her, and reached out to brush the hair back from Flora’s face. Her lips twisted in sympathy. “I heard you got hurt, I’m so sorry.” _

_ Flora shrugged. “Lots of people had it worse than me.” _

_ “That poor girl,” Liliana said softly. “I can’t help but think she might have been alive if she hadn’t been attending Alfea.” _

_ Flora’s head jerked up and she found herself seething in a rare show of anger. She shook her head in disgust and strode past Liliana, not slowing down when her ex-girlfriend bit her lip and followed. _

_ “I’m sorry, that was insensitive to say-” _

_ “Yeah, it was. I’ve always respected your values Liliana, and despite our differences I’ve always regretted that we couldn’t make it work between us. But for the record, if we hadn’t fought those witches might be out there hurting even more people than they did.” _

_ “I- I’m sorry, Flora,” Liliana said again, falling behind as Flora stomped off between the trees. _

_ She paused only long enough to look back once and say, “Yeah, me too.” _

The interaction between them had been ugly, and uncharacteristic for them; even when they’d been breaking up they’d been civil towards each other. But what was even more uncharacteristic was the fact that Flora was yet to forgive Liliana, despite the girl’s multiple attempts to apologise. She couldn’t help the simmering anger she felt whenever she saw Liliana or thought about the things she’d said.

Distantly she knew she wasn’t really angry at Liliana, or at least not completely. She was angry at the situation, at Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, and even in some ways at herself for holding onto all this negativity. Flora had always loved being able to see the good in the world, and she hated the fact that lately that seemed much harder to do.

The owner of the store, a large woman with a warm smile, came bustling towards her, a delicate potted flower cradled between her palms.

“A gift, for your last day,” she said, pressing it into Flora’s hands.

She leaned in and took a long inhale, feeling something inside her settle at the soothing scent. All summer she’d been learning about the different benefits of scents and how they could change someone’s mood, promote healing, and do a number of other things. But she didn’t think she’d ever seen this one before.

“What does this one do?”

“It's rare, so I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. It’s scent is calming and helps you heal from trauma. I hope it brings you peace, Flora.”

Flora smelled it again, smiling subconsciously. “I hope it does too.” The owner smiled at her and patted her hand, before nodding at the depths of the store.

“Now come, we still have work to do.”

“You’ve been staring at that PCB for ten minutes now.”

Tecna jolted at the sound of her older sister’s voice, and blinked down at the circuit board she’d been idly turning over and over in her hands. She couldn’t even remember what she’d been planning to do with it.

“Have I?” she asked absently, thinking that she could do with a cup of Flora’s concentration tea that she gave them when they were trying to study. “Guess I just zoned out.”

Perl arched an eyebrow at her sister but didn’t comment as she brushed past her into the kitchen to fix herself a drink. Tecna watched her go, thinking how odd it was to have her sister at home again. Perl was nearly twelve years older than Tecna and had moved out of home with her boyfriend four years earlier, but since their split had moved back in until she could find a place of her own. She hadn’t talked about the breakup much, just telling her family that they’d decided they weren’t compatible anymore, but Tecna suspected there was more to it than that.

That was also odd, these small intuitive leaps that she was making more frequently. Zenithians relied on logic and observable evidence more than anything else, so it was unusual for them to go off hunches and feelings. Tecna put it down to hanging around her friends so much and didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing.

“Are you doing okay, Perl?” Tecna asked suddenly, setting the circuit board down. “You know, with everything?”

Perl turned to her in surprise but she didn’t look disapproving of Tecna’s question, just curious. “I’m fine,” she said evenly.

“He’s stupid for letting you go. He’s not going to find anyone else like you.”

Perl pursed her lips, and Tecna waited for her usual spiel about the breakup being a mutual agreement of incompatibility, but there was a flash of vulnerability in Perl’s eyes and instead she said, “Thank you, Tecna. That’s very kind of you to say.”

Tecna shrugged, she was telling the truth. Perl, taking after her mother, was prettier than Tecna with high cheekbones, pale eyes, and full lips. They shared the same willowy height however, and their hair was the exact same shade of magenta, though where Tecna wore hers short, Perl shaved half her head and wore the other side long. Tecna also knew her sister was extremely smart, being one of the lead engineers on a new spacecraft that they hoped to become the fastest in the dimension.

“Hey,” Tecna said after a moment’s silence, and set the circuit board down. Perl hummed in acknowledgement. “What are you doing now?”

“Nothing, why?”

“Because I was thinking,” Tecan said slowly, eyeing her sister’s hair. “That I’m in need of a new hairstyle for school.”

Perl ran a hand through her shaved head, a wicked smile, one that Tecna hadn’t seen in some time, taking over her face. “I’ll get my razor.”

* * *

As much as Bloom had liked being home and had been nervous about coming back after everything, a weight lifted off Bloom’s chest as she walked through the Alfea front gates. Shifting her backpack higher on her shoulder, Bloom found herself glad that Stella had taught her a nifty packing spell that had allowed her to fit more of her belongings into her suitcase this year. Walking through the quad, Bloom gazed around at the familiar sights, and her heart lifted at the thought of the coming year.

Her good mood dissipated a little however when, looking around, she noticed the stares of nearby students. Most of them were subtle about it, quickly averting their eyes when they saw her looking, but some looked on openly with something between terror and awe displayed on their faces. Cheeks turning pink, Bloom shoved her hands deep into her hoodie and ducked her hand, making a beeline for the front doors.

All of a sudden it was like the sunny day had disappeared, and all Bloom could see as she hurried along the path was darkness from the thick cloud cover The smooth green lawns were once more smeared with grey goo from the Army of Decay and dotted with divots from stray spells. The South Tower was in pieces, and the laughing and chatting fairies were replaced with crying and screaming as teenagers ran around, frantic to find their friends. Bloom shuddered, panic rising in her chest, as she fought the urge to look over her shoulder in case Icy, Darcy, and Stormy were preparing to attack-

“Bloom!”

The sun came out again, and a gasp left Bloom as she spun around, relieved to see that it was Flora hurrying towards her. It was no surprise when her friend flung herself at Bloom and the redhead returned the hug, having missed her friends more than she realised.

“How are you?” Bloom asked. They released each other and wordlessly started for the front doors, skirting around a pair of terrified looking freshmen talking to Griselda. “You look great.”

Bloom hadn’t been talking specifically about Flora’s scars from the attack, but even so the girl touched a hand to where the wounds had faded to a collection of almost indiscernible lines. She didn’t think it would be long until they faded completely.

“Thank you, I feel good. I think a few quiet months at home was just what I needed.”

“I’m glad.”

They reached their dorm and pushed the door open, almost crashing into Musa and Tecna who looked like they were on their way out.

“Guys!”

“Hey!”

“Bloom, Flora, it’s so good to see you.”

“Hey, Musa.”

“Hi, Tec.”

The next few minutes were a confusing mess of hugs, bags, and conversation as they all tried to simultaneously hug and catch up on each other’s summers.

“Oh my god, how was the tour?”

“Amazing, how was Gardenia?”

“Great. We won our roller derby comp.”

“Awesome, you still have to teach me how to play.”

“Flora, did I see you were learning about aroma-magic this summer?”

“Yes, I worked at a shop, the owner was brilliant.”

“You’ll have to tell me more later. I’ve read up on it sounds fascinating-”

“Tec, your hair!”

Tecna grinned a little self consciously and ran a hand over her hair. It was still short and pink, but the underneath had been buzzed short, completely with intricate lines shaved in. “Do you like it? My sister did it for me yesterday.”

“It looks great,” Bloom grinned.

Musa and Tecna moved back and gestured for them to come in, rather than hanging out by the doorway. Bloom was kind of curious where Stella was since she hadn’t come out at the sound of the conversation and she was sure Stella had said she was getting there as early as she could.

As if reading her thoughts, Musa said in an undertone, “I’m warning you now, Stella is in a  _ mood.  _ She can’t decide what to wear tonight.”

“Oh no,” Bloom said, trying to sound mournful but knowing her twitching lips gave her away.

Musa grinned. “Yeah, so we’re just going down to the quad to see if they need any help setting up or showing the freshmen around.”

“I’ll just unpack and meet you guys down there,” Flora said, dragging her stuff over to her and Bloom’s room.

“And I’ll uh, deal with that, I guess,” Bloom said, nodding at Stella’s room. Even though the door was closed they could easily hear her throwing things around and grumbling.

Musa and Tecna bid her good luck and made a hasty escape from the dorm. Bloom meanwhile just dumped her bags in the middle of the common area, and knocked hesitantly on Stella’s door, before pushing it open.

“Darling,” Stella said, sounding calm despite the fact that she was sitting cross legged in the middle of her room, clothes, shoes, and accessories in towering piles around her. “Have I ever told you how much I hate fashion.”

“No, you haven’t, and no, you don’t,” Bloom said, picking her way between the clothes.

“Yes, I do.” Stella sounded glum but stood regardless to give Bloom a hug hello. “I think I made too many fashion decisions this summer, I’m all tapped out now.”

“Maybe you just have too many options,” Bloom suggested, thinking that the contents of Stella’s wardrobe resembled a department store.

Stella pulled back and gave her a half-hearted glare. “Don’t joke, there’s no such thing. The style editors at Teen Fairy gave me too many rules and now I’m all confused.”

“You love fashion rules, though,” Bloom said. She picked up a little black dress that would probably come down past her knees but on Stella would barely hit her mid-thigh. “You’re always saying stuff like ‘when you wear a short skirt, you should really mess up your hair’.”

“Not helping, Bloom,” Stella sighed, and flopped back onto the ground.

“Just make a decision, and then you’ll feel better.” Bloom sunk to the ground beside her, watching as her friend  shifted frantically through a pile of long dresses. “Hey, Stel, your parents-”

“It’s official,” Stella said, flinging a sweater across the room. “Mum left yesterday.” A pair of silver heels followed the sweater and hit the wall with a thud. “The King and Queen of Solaria are no longer.”

“Stel…” Bloom trailed off, not knowing what to say. She slipped her arm around Stella’s shoulder and the blonde leant over to rest her head on Bloom’s shoulder.

“It’s fine,” Stella said, even though it clearly wasn’t. “Honestly, I’m just glad they won’t be arguing all the time now.”

“Stella, if you ever want to talk about it-”

“I’m fine!” Stella said vehemently, pulling out from under Bloom’s arm and leaning forward for another stack of dresses. “I appreciate the gesture, really, darling,” she continued, not meeting Bloom’s eye. “But I’m fine. And I just really need to work out what I’m wearing tonight.”

Bloom didn’t think she was, but she also knew Stella well enough that she would just shut down if she pushed too hard.

“Have you worked out what you’re wearing?” Stella asked after a moment.

Bloom smiled, thinking of the shopping trip she and her mum had taken just before she’d come back. “Yeah, I told my mum about how we always have the start of year dance and she insisted on buying me a new dress.”

“Cute,” Stella said, but Bloom could tell from her voice that her thoughts were elsewhere, so she stood, touching her friend’s shoulder lightly.

“I might go find the others. You’ll be fine.”

Stella hummed noncommittally, making Bloom smile. On her way out she passed Stella’s desk and was distracted by a series of sketches spilled across the surface. Bloom easily identified Stella’s messy handwriting annotating the drawing, and she was blown away by the gorgeous dress her friend had designed. She turned to mention it to Stella but saw that the blonde was fully immersed in her clothes once more and decided to leave her to it.

After dumping her stuff in her room, and resolving to unpack it over the weekend before classes started on Monday, Bloom left the dorm. Despite what she’d told Stella, she wasn’t overly enthusiastic about returning to the crowded quad with all the stareing and whispering so instead Bloom found herself idly wandering through the hallways instead. Occasionally she came across a scared freshman and pointed them in the right direction, but for the most part Bloom was alone and that was more than fine with her.

Eventually, however, she ran into Rhonwen coming in the opposite direction. The healer’s golden eyes blinked in surprise behind her glasses before she broke into a warm smile.

“Bloom, I was just coming to find you. You missed our last session.”

Rhonwen’s voice wasn’t condemning merely curious and concerned, but still Bloom flushed a little.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I got called into work last minute,” she said, the lie coming effortlessly to her lips. “Then, you know, I was so busy getting ready to come back I forgot to reschedule.”

“But your last couple of weeks of summer were okay? And coming back today? I know that was a source of some anxiety for you.”

Bloom thought about the nightmares, of waking up night after night gasping for breath, feeling like something was watching her, closing in on her; of the daymares where fear gripped her so tightly it was impossible to escape, or where she could have sworn she was back fighting the Trix all over again.

But then she thought of her friends, and how great they were all doing after everything that happened last year. She’d kept up to date with them over the summer break and she knew they were all healing and moving forward.

“I’m fine,” she lied. “Really, you know, I think I’m finally coming out of all this.”

“That’s good to hear, Bloom.”

“Yeah, so I really don’t think we need to continue with our sessions.”

Rhonwen contained her reaction well, but still Bloom saw the momentary surprise flash across her face. Then it smoothed out to a professionally pleasant look. “If you’re sure, Bloom. I would suggest at least a few more sessions, just to get you settled, but the choice is ultimately yours.”

“I really think I’m fine.”

Rhonwen nodded her head in deference. “Of course. You likely won’t be seeing much more of me then. Less students than we expected have requested continued sessions so I’ll doubtlessly be reassigned soon.”

Bloom nodded politely, thinking that that cemented her decision. Everyone else was clearly moving on from the whole ordeal, it was time she did too.

“I hope I’ve been able to help you, Bloom. I know it was a hard thing to move on from.”

“No, you have definitely. So thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Good luck then. I wish you well with your studies and everything after.”

“Thank you,” Bloom said again, and Rhonwen nodded her head and took her leave.

Bloom watched her go, before continuing in the opposite direction, resuming her aimless wandering. She didn’t remain alone for long however, and almost cursed when she sensed someone else approaching her. Bloom’s irritation dimmed when she saw that it was an unfamiliar pixie flying towards her. Only a few teacher’s on campus had bonded with pixies so Bloom knew most of them on sight, and this pixie definitely wasn’t one of them.

This pixie seemed older than most that Bloom had seen, wore deep blue robes, and had blonde hair tumbling out from underneath a pointed hat. Tiny spectacles perched on the end of her nose, and she looked over them at Bloom as she flew closer.

“Hello,” the pixie said, stopping to hover just in front of her.

“Hi, I’m Bloom Peters.”

Recognition lit up the pixie’s face. “Ah, the lost Princess of Sparx. I had a feeling I’d be seeing you today. It’s nice to meet you, Princess Bloom.”

Bloom’s stomach lurched uncomfortably at the title. “Bloom is fine. And it’s nice to meet you too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at Alfea before.”

“You wouldn’t have. I was away most of last year doing field research on different divination techniques, really quite fascinating, you know there’s a subset of fairies who-” The pixie blinked and shook her head, seeming to come back to herself. “Sorry, I’m Concorda, a pixie of prophecies.”

Concorda was still regarding Bloom curiously, eyes roving over her face as well as the air around her, as though the pixie could see something Bloom couldn’t. “Would you like to have your fortune told, Bloom? I have a feeling yours would be an interesting one.”

Bloom agreed easily enough. She had no interest in going down to the quad yet, and besides she hadn’t met many pixies yet, let alone had a chance to talk to them for any length of time. Concorda led her a short way down the hall before turning down a short corridor that Bloom had thought held nothing but storage closets. The pixie stopped between two unassuming doors, and with a wink at Bloom, grasped an invisible doorknob, pushing open a hidden door.

“I had no idea there was a classroom here,” Bloom said as she walked inside.

The room was tall and ovular, with a domed skylight overhead providing the light. There were only a handful of desks, and the walls were full of recessed bookshelves, the only clear space being for the door.

“I hold a few seminars each year,” Concorda explained, as she settled onto a small lounge set on the teacher’s desk. Bloom dragged over one of the desk chairs to sit with her. “And even then only when there’s a particular interest amongst the cohort in the art of divination. The rest of my time is devoted to my research, and fortune-telling, and of course I look after some of Alfea’s more precious books for Miss Faragonda. We’re bonded, you know?” 

Concorda gestured to the books lining the walls, and if Bloom had to guess she would be betting there were over a thousand of them. Her eyes widened as she realised what she had said at the end; she hadn’t realised Faragonda was bonded with a pixie. Concorda poured herself a cup of tea and regarded Bloom for a long moment over the rim of the tiny cup.

“You have a lot of bright light around you,” she said finally.

“I hope that’s a good thing.”

“Absolutely,” Concorda said, and sipped her tea. “It means that you’re surrounded by people you love very much.”

“Oh, that’s true,” Bloom agreed, thinking of her friends.

“You must be careful though not to let your love for them cloud your decisions.”

Bloom frowned. “What does that mean?”

Concorda didn’t seem to hear her, as she set her tea down. There was a crystal ball sitting on the small table, but she didn’t look into it, instead gazing at the air around Bloom. “I see four very strong friendship lights around you.”

“Those would be my best girlfriends,” Bloom guessed.

“Wait,” Concorda said, squinting a bit. “There’s a fifth. But it's dimmer than the rest.”

Bloom was puzzled. “I don’t know, maybe it could be for Sky. He goes to Red Fountain but I’m close with him as well.”

A funny smile appeared on Concorda’s lips. “Sky has blonde hair and blue eyes?”

“Yes.”

“He’s here as well. But no, this light is different.”

“I’m not sure then.”

“Yes, I see a strong connection between yourself and this Sky. There will be some bumps along the way, but it will all be worth it in the end.”

Half of Bloom wanted to know what  _ that  _ meant but the rest was embarrassed by the idea of a pixie who was essentially a teacher at Alfea giving her relationship advice so she didn’t push it. “What else?”

Concorda tilted her head back and forth, her lips moving soundlessly as she attempted to interpret whatever she was seeing. “I see you will soon meet someone new. A fairy, oh a Princess. She has long dark hair and this Princess will have a sleepy pixie with her. Her arrival will be a catalyst for a big adventure in your life.”

Bloom’s head was reeling, trying to absorb all this information, when Concorda let out a noise of dismay. She leaned forward subconsciously.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Concorda heaved a mournful sigh. “I see darkness and grave peril. The Princess is climbing a great cliff, in a realm that is host to a dark and powerful evil.”

Bloom almost leapt to her feet. “She needs help!”

“Yes, but you can’t help her. Not yet. I see it, Bloom. Keep your eyes open because your paths will cross soon and it will change everything.”

It was hard but Bloom forced herself to nod and sit back.

“But that’s not all you need to look out for, my dear. I’m afraid there’s danger around every corner and in the most unlikely of places.”

Concorda blinked a few times, almost like she was coming out of a trance, and reached for her tea. Finding it cold, she grimaced and set it back on the table. Bloom, in the meantime, was trying to sort through everything Concorda had told her, and trying not to worry too much about the looming threat of danger.

“I told you you would have an interesting prophecy. If only we had time for me to read your tea leaves or palms, I might be able to divine even further. Alas, I have a feeling Miss Faragonda will be calling you to her office in just a few minutes.” Concorda smiled enigmatically, winked at Bloom, and the door to her classroom swung open, completely unprompted.

Layla Asherah, crown princess to the realm Andros, felt the stone bite into her fingertips and wondered how she’d ended up here. Not literally of course, she could remember every moment of the terrifying journey, but rather she contemplated how her life could have changed so quickly that she ended up in this dreary realm. The air around her was musty and dank, a result of the lack of natural light and the waterfalls that spilled down on either side of her. The water should have made the rockface she scaled slippery and unclimbable but, defying nature, the water repelled every time her hands drew near. The simple magic cost her dearly however and she was all too aware of the sweat beading at her hairline as well as the ache in her arms.

Even the tiny pixie balanced on her shoulder, one who she could usually carry without a thought, felt as though she weighed a thousand pounds. The pixie, Lockette, twisted her hands nervously in Layla’s curls and shifted her tiny feet.

“Don’t move,” Layla huffed, pulling them up another inch.

“Sorry, sorry,” Lockette whimpered, and let out a terrified squeak when the rock beneath Layla’s hands began to crumble.

The fairy hushed her and stayed very still until the shadow of a monster crossed the ledge above her head and moved on. She forced herself to wait another minute, ignoring the quiver in her muscles, before pulling herself up the last few feet and collapsing over the edge. Lockette’s breath left her in a relieved gush and she forced her hands to ease up the death grip they had on Layla’s hair.

Nervous for her friend, the pixie buzzed into the air and hovered in front of Layla’s face, the fairy still trying to get her breath back.

“Just rest for a moment,” Lockette said. 

The pixie rubbed at her bare arms and looked around nervously. Despite the tights and short cape the pixie wore with her yellow dress, Lockette found herself shivering in the cool air; although, Lockette knew it was equally likely that it was the knowledge that her friends were being held captive somewhere near that was making her shiver.

Biting her lip, Lockette looked between Layla and the underground cavern they’d found themselves in. The cavern was humongous, with rocky walls, and a grey lake at the bottom. In the centre was a large cliff, and built right into it was the castle they were attempting to break into. It had taken them hours to scale the cliff face, but Lockette knew that was relatively easy compared to what came next.

“Layla,” she said quietly, flying down to perch on the fairy’s bent knee. “Why don’t I try and find the others while you rest a little bit longer?”

Lockette didn’t like the idea of leaving Layla here alone, but they were running out of time, and the pixie could tell from her friend’s ashen face that she didn’t have the energy to move yet. Despite this, Layla tried to protest anyway, moving to push herself up.

“I’ll leave you a trail to follow,” Lockette assured her, wings flapping as she was jostled. “You’re tired and need to rest some more.” She tried to sound firm but they both could hear the waver in her voice. Lockette had always been a nervy pixie, usually preferring to stay close to her village rather than go out and explore with the others.

Layla finally agreed with a nod and settled back against the rocky wall of the castle. Far from being relieved, Lockette felt even more nervous at the idea of going off alone, but didn’t dare show it, knowing it would make Layla feel obliged to come with her. Instead she busied herself with pulling free one of the two clips holding back her short, pink hair. The clips resembled small old fashioned keys and were made of a tarnished gold. Lockette threw the one in her hand up into the air and it immediately transformed, lengthening into a key shaped sceptre.

“Be careful, okay,” Layla said, and Lockette nodded, avoiding her gaze. She knew if she looked at the fairy, she’d lose her nerve and decide instead to wait until Layla was feeling stronger. But her friends were out there, in Dragon only knew what shape, and she couldn’t waste any more time.

Feeling her unspoken command, her sceptre twitched in her hands, the gem hanging off one end glowing a bright, buttery gold. As a pixie of portals and direction, Lockette had a better than normal sense of her surroundings but her sceptre focused that even more, the gem glowing brighter and pulsing faster when she was heading in the right direction of whatever it was she sought.

Moving through the labyrinth of outer hallways and corridors, Lockette could sense that there was a powerful and terrifying presence within the heart of the castle proper. She gulped and felt very glad that she could sense her friend’s auras just up ahead still on the outskirts of the castle. Confirming her sense, the gem on the sceptre grew brighter and brighter, pulsating wildly as she flew between pillars and entering an alcove where she saw her friends being held.

“Lockette!”

“It’s Lockette!”

“You’re here!”

The sound of her friend’s voice nearly brought Lockette to tears and all the fear inside her was momentarily eradicated as she whizzed towards their magical cage mindful of stopping short of the glowing, transparent walls.

“Are you girls, okay?”

Despite their fearful faces they all chorused answers to the affirmative and Lockette’s eyes swept over them, checking for injuries and finding none. Chatta was standing beside Amore, a reassuring arm around the other pixie’s shoulders even though she was almost too short to manage it, Jolly and Zing were hovering hand in hand, taking comfort in each other, Tune was putting on a brave face, Digit looked as impassive as ever, and Lockette was unsurprised to see that Piff was sound asleep, curled at the bottom of the cage.

“Did you come alone?” Amore asked, looking worried. “Oh, Lockette you shouldn’t have, it’s so dangerous.”

“I didn’t,” Lockette assured her quickly. “Layla’s with me. She’s just resting back out there.”

The other pixies all looked reassured by the news that Lockette hadn’t come to this dank, gloomy realm on her own.

“Can you get us out?” Digit asked her, flying closer to the cage walls.

Lockette twisted her sceptre nervously in her hands, gazing at the cage walls clear with magical energy thrumming through them.

Tune sniffed. “Even if we can get out, that’s only the beginning of our problems. We’re way too low on power to fight our way out of here.”

As one, the pixies shuddered, thinking of the monsters roaming around out there. Lockette thought of that powerful presence she felt deeper in the castle, and glanced over her shoulder, wishing Layla was there.

“Actually,” Chatta suddenly broke in. “We might not need magic at all.” Chatta sounded like she was geering up for a rant, and as a pixie of gossip, Lockette was just surprised it had taken her this long to say something. “I read this great article in the Pixie Post the other day, it was all about using psychology to beat a villain. Like if you can understand  _ why  _ they’re evil you can work  _ with  _ that instead of fighting it.” Chatta’s long, strawberry-blonde pigtails swung wildly as she gesticulated, and Lockette fought down a smile, even as she saw Digit roll her eyes.

Amore however was nodding seriously, hanging on every word the pixie said. “I think he’s evil because he’s lonely. He needs to fall in love.”

“You always think love is the solution,” Digit grumbled under her breath, but the others ignored her.

“You’re right, Amore,” Chatta said excitedly, voice subconsciously rising. “That’s so brilliant, I think it deserves a cheer!” Chatta reached for the megaphone pendant she wore around her neck, and Tune held up a hand warningly.

“No more yelling. She hasn’t stopped since we got here,” she said to Lockette.

“I’m  _ just  _ trying to keep spirits up.”

“Well, it’s doing nothing for  _ my  _ spirits.”

“Well…”

Lockette smiled as her friends descended into an argument, glad that some things never changed.

It was hard for Layla to sit and watch Lockette fly off without her. She knew all the pixies were more than capable on their own and didn’t need her to protect them, but if she was being honest, this realm scared her. All that she’d seen of it had been gloomy and dark, the monsters she’d seen prowling around had been spikey with sharp teeth, and she wanted to stay far away from anything with the power to capture a bunch of pixies.

Besides, she had the foreboding sense that the very act of standing in this realm was draining her of her power.

Which was why she only let herself sit for a few minutes before forcing herself to stand, ignoring the way her head pounded and her muscles trembled. Leaning heavier on the wall than she would have liked, the fairy forced herself to follow the faint trail of yellow magic that Lockette had left for her. She weaved between the pillars, hurrying past the dark doorways that lead further into the castle, and smiled weakly when the sound of the pixies talking reached her ears.

She should have known; no matter how much trouble the pixies found themselves in they always seemed to find the time and energy to bicker amongst themselves.

Feeling a surge of energy she closed the distance, smile growing when the pixies bickering instantly cut off at her approach. Seeing their friend they all flew closer to the cage walls and Lockette came to settle back on her shoulder.

“Are you guys, okay?”

“I came up with a new cheer,” Chatta said immediately, and Layla winced, seeing that she was geering up to give her a demo. Chatta was shorter than the average pixie but boy did she have a big voice once she got going. Luckily, Tune broke in before she could.

“We’re losing our powers.” Layla could see that the pixie’s wings were indeed drooping with exhaustion.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna get you guys out of there,” Layla assured them. “Then I’ll have you back to your village in no time.”

Despite the courage Lockette had shown earlier by going off on her own, her usual nerves had returned to her, as she shivered and drew closer to Layla. “But what if the phoenix comes back?”

“Then we’ll fight it all together,” Layla said firmly, sounding more confident than she felt.

Noticing the slumbering pixie at the bottom of the cage, Layla knelt quickly, drawing as near to the magical cage as she dared. Knowing her friends had been in danger had been hard enough, but the fact that the pixie she was bonded with was among them made it a hundred times worse. A bonding between fairy and pixie meant a lot of things, it meant that their magic was compatible, it meant that they would always have each other's backs, and it meant if the other was in danger they would always come to save them.

Seeing that Piff was safe and sleeping as usual, a rush of relief and fondness swept through Layla. As a pixie of sweet dreams, Piff always seemed to be falling asleep.

“Hey there, Piff,” she said gently, knowing from experience that Piff tended to be grumpy when woken suddenly.

The pixie blinked a few times and pushed herself up with one hand, the other rubbing a tiny fist into her eye.

“Layla?” she asked dreamily.

The fairy smiled fondly at the sight of her. Piff always looked a little rumpled as if she’d just woken up - which, to be fair, she usually had - and Layla was surprised how relieving it was to see the familiar sight of Piff’s beanie pulled low and the mauve curls spilling across her face.

“Hey there, Piff. You doing okay?”

Piff frowned sleepily and fiddled absently with the cuff of the lounge pants she wore. “Floor’s uncomfortable,” she said finally, and Layla tried to hide her growing smile.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be back in your comfy bed soon. Problem is,” she continued, standing so she could circle the cage to get a better look at it. “This place has drained most of my power.”

The cage had a circular rocky base out of which emerged a cylinder of red magical energy, sealing the pixies inside. She couldn’t see so much as a crack to indicate a weak spot that she might be able to hit. But she wasn’t leaving without her friends so as a test she decided to try a simple wave attack. Drawing her magic up from the well inside her she flung it at the cage, intending for a large wave of water to crash down on it. Instead, her attack was closer to a thin stream, and even that felt exhausting.

“See,” she groaned, embarrassed by the pitiful attempt.

Digit shook her head swiftly. “It’s not your fault, Layla. This place isn’t good for any of us.”

Lockette zoomed from Layla’s shoulder and over to the far wall of the alcove. The wall was so jagged from the rocks that Layla hadn’t noticed the ferocious gargoyle likeness that was protruding from it. She joined Lockette by it, cocking her head when she realised it’s eyes weren’t stone like the rest of it but were swirling with a strange red light.

“It’s exuding a lot of magical energy,” Lockette said, tapping it curiously with the end of her sceptre. She glanced at Layla. “Let’s try hitting it together.”

“You got it.”

Trying to ignore her trembling arms, Layla squared her hands up to aim at the gargoyle and on Lockette’s count, they attacked together; Layla fired a jet of pressurised water, while Lockette swiped her sceptre with a flash of gold light. A cloud of smoke enveloped the stone gargoyle and Layla heard a sizzle behind her, but she was too busy collapsing to her knees to look around. Her chest felt tight and she forced herself to stay hunched over for a minute until her breathing became less strained.

“Are you okay, Layla?” Amore said coming over to her.

Layla glanced over her shoulder to see the other pixies scrambling off the base of the cage, the magical walls having completely disappeared.

“Yeah.” She didn’t feel okay, but she could see some of her friends were too drained of energy to fly and she was going to have to carry them. “I’m just not sure if I can climb back down that cliff.” Her stomach twisted in worry thinking about that sheer drop. But breaking the lock on the cage had exhausted both her and Lockette and she didn’t think the pixie had the energy to create a portal for them just yet. “Let’s take a quick look around and see if we can find another way down.”

Amore, Chatta, and Lockette looked to be in the worst shape, so Layla scooped them - along with Piff, who had fallen asleep once again - up, depositing Piff in her hood where she liked it, and the others on her shoulders. The rest of the pixies, using the last of their energy, flew into the air and together they began to make their way around the castle.

They didn’t make it very far however before they heard a low growl come from the shadows up ahead. Heart pounding in her chest, Layla froze, holding a hand out so the pixies flying around her did the same. There was no way she or the pixies had the magic to take on a monster so even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, Layla ducked through the doorway to her left and snuck along the hallway leading further into the derelict castle.

Deep within the castle the dark presence felt the disturbance and lifted his head from where it rested on his fist. He cocked his head and smiled, but the expression was devoid of humour.

“Well, that’s very interesting,” he said, silky voice filling the shabby throne room.

Idly he ran the pad of his thumb along the razor sharp nail on his index finger, considering how to proceed.

“My Lord,” a quiet voice said from the corner but he flicked his fingers in a lazy dismissal, the talons catching the dingy light and his companion obediently fell silent.

He twitched his fingers again and immediately a group of the monsters that inhabited the realm crept from the shadows, ready to obey their master.

“You know what to do,” he said simply, and the monsters slunk from the room.

Layla flung open a set of tall double doors, sparing half a second to admire the intricate designs carved into them. The interior of the castle was as dingy as the realm it was in, and although it looked as though the castle had once been grand and majestic, it had long since fallen into disrepair. The room Layla found herself in was covered in a thick layer of dust, the furniture was all in the process of deteriorating, and the glass in the window frames was cracked and discoloured.

“How are you feeling, Lockette?” Layla asked her quietly, setting of around the perimeter of the room, looking for more doors.

“I’m okay,” Lockette said, but her voice was faint and Layla could hear how the pixie was trying to put on a brave face.

There was a quiet shuffle behind her and she whirled around, but nothing emerged from the din. Trying to calm her racing heart, Layla turned back around slowly, and continued around the room.

“We’ll give it a few more minutes,” she said, making her way back through the cluttered room towards the door. “Then see if you can open a portal to get us out of here.”

“I can try now,” Lockette said, voice wavering, and Layla knew she was eager to get out of there.

“It’s okay, we’ll just-”

A sudden crash from the other side of the room drew their attention and this time when Layla spun around it was to come face to face with a monster. It was gruesomely hideous, with grey armored skin, taloned hands, and a face with no discernible eyes but plenty of teeth. She backed away slowly, trying not to spook it with any sudden movements, but to her right a second monster emerged. This one moving towards her on four feet with a rough back that was covered in stone spikes.

The two monsters roared in tandem and Layla bit down a yelp of fright, instead instructing the pixies to hold onto her as she turned to run. Only a third monster was already waiting behind her, this one with slimy brown skin and large teeth. Before Layla could even think about dodging, it reared back it’s head and spat a mouthful of bile at her.

The shot had power behind it and it threw her across the room where she slammed into a dilapidated couch which collapsed beneath her. Most of her body was covered with long cargo pants and a hoodie, but where her skin was bare the bile stung painfully.

Beside her, Chatta pushed debris from the couch off Amore, while Tune looked down at her dress and the bile drenching it in dismay. Sniffing sharply, she tugged her gloves further up her arms.

“Oh, you are going to regret that,” she said in her polished voice.

She looked to Chatta and the pixie nodded decisively. The monsters didn’t seem to find the two of them, short even for pixies and barely clearing 9 inches, very threatening and began to advance. They stopped very quickly however when Chatta and Tune both opened their mouths and let out simultaneous ear-piercing notes.

The monsters roared but dropped to their knees, trying to get away from the noise, while Layla grimaced and stuffed her fingers in her ears, the other pixies following suit. With their wings drenched in bile the pixies were unable to fly so Layla was quick to scoop them up into her arms, snagging Chatta and Tune as well when their energy waned and the noise died away.

Unfortunately as soon as the noise stopped, the monsters recovered and the one with spikes along it’s back made a move towards her. It was a strange, aborted movement, more like a jerk than anything else, and Layla frowned before hearing a strange whistle and realising that the monster had catapulted a bunch of it’s spikes at her. She dove out of the way and hit the floor, rolling into the impact and back onto her feet in time to see new spikes slid out of the divots the old ones had left.

The move had brought her closer to the monster standing up on its hind legs and it swiped at her, Layla dodging neatly. The slimy brown monster reared back it’s head to spit more bile but this time Layla ducked out of the way. There was a screech behind her that told her another monster had been hit instead.

The way clear now, and the monsters turning on each other instead, Layla sprinted from the room, the pixies clinging to her desperately. She paused for only a split second at the doors before turning down the hallway that would lead her back outside. She could sense a dark presence in the place that was different from the monsters patrolling and if it was a choice, she would rather face the monsters.

She burst through a different doorway from the one she’d entered and came face to face with a rickety bridge leading away from the castle. But there was a man standing on the edge of it, blocking her way.

Within a second of laying her eyes on the man, Layla felt the blood in her body run cold, and she took a step back before she could stop herself. The pixies in her arms were more silent that Layla had ever seen them, and she could feel Lockette trembling where she was hiding her face in her hoodie.

The man was tall and thin, and wore sleek, plated amour in a deep burgundy from ankle to neck while his face was hidden by a heavy metal helmet. The skin on the backs of his hands were swirled with what looked like burns and his fingers ended in deadly sharp talons. For a moment the dim light in the cavern seemed to flicker and Layla thought she saw great, shadowed wings unfurl from his shoulder blades, but then she blinked and they were gone.

When he spoke, his voice was smooth like oil, slithering through the space and wrapping around her like an uncomfortable embrace.

“Hello.”

Heeding what Concorda had said, Bloom headed for Faragonda’s office rather than returning to the dorm, figuring the headmistress would be looking for her sooner or later.

“Bloom,” Faragonda said in surprise, when she saw who it was at her door. “I was going to come looking for you in a few minutes.”

Bloom couldn’t help the small smile that crossed her face as she took her usual seat in front of the desk. “Yeah, Concorda mentioned it.”

Faragonda’s surprise grew but it melted into amusement. “She loves telling the student’s prophecies, especially on the first day. Did she tell you anything interesting?”

Bloom thought of Concorda’s prophecy predicting danger around every corner and hummed thoughtfully. “A bit.”

Faragonda’s head tilted ever so slightly, her smile fading a bit. “Concorda is very well versed in the art of fortune telling, Bloom, but even she makes mistakes sometimes. I wouldn’t let it worry you too much.”

“I’m fine,” Bloom said, her voice more forceful than she intended.

Faragonda held her gaze for a moment, before acquiescing with a nod. “I hope your summer was also good. I know- I know the end of last year was hard for you.”

“It was good,” Bloom said, only half-lying. “It was nice being home with my parents.” This part at least she was being completely truthful about.

Faragonda nodded but she looked like she had something else on her mind. “Have you thought anymore about Oritel and Miriam?” she asked carefully.

Bloom had. At first she hadn’t wanted to, and in fact had spent the first weeks of summer break pretending like she hadn’t found out who her birth parents were. But eventually Mike and Vanessa had sat her down and forced her to talk it out, and she’d realised that even though it would hurt, she  _ did  _ want to know more about them.

“I have,” she said slowly. “I want to know more about them, you know, who they were as people. Maybe,” she said hesitantly. “Maybe once term starts up again we can talk about them?”

Faragonda smiled gently. “I’d like that. And to talk about your powers as well. I discussed them with Miriam many times.”

Bloom nodded, but didn’t say anything further. Faragonda seemed to know not to push Bloom because she nodded and changed the subject.

“The other thing I wanted to speak to you about was the new tower. As part of the festivities tonight we’ll be reopening it, and I was wondering what you thought of us naming it after you.”

Bloom felt her eyebrows jump up in surprise as Faragonda peered over her spectacles at her, waiting for an answer.

Bloom forced a laugh. “So, it would be called Bloom Tower or something?”

“I was thinking more like the Dragon Fire wing,” Faragonda said. “Slightly more subtle but a clear acknowledgement of what you did for us, Bloom.”

She thought of the stares and whispers as she walked through the quad earlier, and swallowed roughly. Another reminder of what Bloom had done was the last thing she needed. “That’s really nice of you, Miss Faragonda, but if it’s okay I’d really rather not.” Unbidden, the image of Asterin’s face rose in her mind. “In fact I think you should name it after Asterin instead. She- she gave a lot more than me.”

Faragonda nodded. “That’s a lovely idea, Bloom.” There was a beat of introspective silence, then Faragonda leaned back in her chair and readjusted her glasses, the moment broken. “I should let you go and get ready. Our guests will be arriving soon,” she added, eyes twinkling.

Bloom said goodbye, and made her leave, swearing when she got outside the office and checked the time. It was later than she thought and she was sure the girls were already dressed and heading down to the quad.

Bloom wasn’t wrong and the exact moment she was hurrying back to her dorm, Stella was standing with the others on the quad, eyeing the sun’s position in the sky as she fidgeted with the skirts of her full length champagne coloured gown. The party wouldn’t start until later when the sun was closer to actually setting, but guys from Red Fountain were expected earlier to attend the re-opening ceremony for the restored tower.

“Bloom, better get here quick or she’s going to miss the guys. And I want us all together when they get here.”

“Why?” Flora asked curiously. The Linphean fairy had gone much more casual with her outfit, still in a long dress, but her’s a brightly patterned wrap dress paired with a brown leather belt.

“I have this theory that beauty enhances beauty,” Stella explained. “If I’m surrounded by the four of you, I’ll look four times as beautiful.”

Tecna raised her eyebrow curiously, looking the picture of elegance and nonchalance in her white jumpsuit and nude heels. “What’s your methodology for proving this theory?”

Stella blinked, expression blank and Musa rolled her eyes, smoothing her hands almost self consciously over her own dress. As always when Musa wore a dress she’d chosen to go short, in a black, velvet dress with billowy sheer sleeves.

“Don’t worry, Stella, you look good,” she muttered, scuffing the toe of her chunky boot into the grass.

“Good isn't good enough,” Stella sighed. “I barely got to see Brandon over the break and this needs to be perfect.”

“Well, you’re in luck because Bloom’s almost here,” Tecna noted, nodding at something over Stella’s shoulder.

They all turned to see Bloom hurrying towards them, hobbling a little as the strap of one of her white heels was still undone.

“Sorry, I’m late,” she huffed when she reached them, immediately bending over to fix her shoe. “I was talking to Faragonda.”

“Everything okay?” Flora asked, sounding worried and Bloom nodded without even looking up.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. So what do you think?” She straightened and spread her arms, showing off her new dress. The top was white with thin spaghetti straps that showed off the dusting off freckles across her shoulders. The dress was decorated with simple little white flowers just under the bust before falling into a pale blue gauzy skirt.

The others gushed with praise while Stella ran a critical eye over her outfit, residual annoyance from her friend’s lateness still on her face. Finally she allowed an approving nod and started to herd them all towards the front gates.

“The boys are going to be here soon.”

“Yeah,” Musa said eagerly. “They’re all gonna race here on their leva-bikes. And Riven’s gonna win,” she added smugly.

Stella huffed a disbelieving breath and rolled her eyes. “You wish, it’s so gonna be Brandon.”

Bloom smiled, having missed their lighthearted bickering over the break, but didn’t comment. Privately, she thought Sky was going to win.

Stella and Musa’s squabbling eased off when three leva-bikes came tearing around the corner and towards the school. Bloom felt her heart lift at the sight of Sky’s sleek blue helmet, and she bit her lip, trying not to think about what that meant. Sky and Riven were half a bike-length in front of Brandon but for a moment it looked like he might come up on the outside and overtake. But ultimately it was Riven who reached them and pulled up first, Sky, then Brandon following.

“Oh no, it was so close,” Flora sighed.

Stella groaned a little but she was smiling at the sight of her boyfriend. Musa looked pleased but restrained herself from gloating.

“Riven did go to leva-bike camp this summer,” she admitted.

Riven pulled off his helmet, shaking out his hair, and already crowing with his achievement. “I won! Looks like you guys have to do all my chores this week.”

Neither Sky nor Brandon seemed to hear him or if they did they didn’t pay him any attention, as they simultaneously swung their legs off the bikes and dismounted. Brandon took off his helmet and hooked it over the handlebars in one fluid movement before striding over to Stella. The blonde met him halfway with a grin, and grabbed him by the lapels of his smart looking blazer, hauling him in for a passionate kiss.

They all turned away to give them privacy - not that Stella nor Brandon seemed to mind - and Bloom muttered, “I guess they’re back on for real.”

“For sure,” someone said from her left, and Bloom’s heart skipped a beat at the voice she’d been waiting for months to hear in person. “He hasn’t shut up about her all summer.”

Bloom turned to Sky, breathless, and for a second they both hesitated, everything from the year before hanging in the air between them. Then they both seemed to shake it off as Bloom slipped her arms around his neck while his curled loosely around her waist.

“Hey,” he murmured into her hair.

“Hi,” she said, hiding her smile in his shoulder.

Finally they separated and their eyes simultaneously swept over each other, drinking the other in.

“How are you?” Bloom asked, trying not to think of how sharp he looked in his dark blue blazer and jeans.

“Good,” he said, sounding distracted. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Bloom felt a blush flood her cheeks just as Flora appeared on one side of her. Musa popped up on the other a split second later, leaving a scowling Riven in her wake.

“Awww,” she crooned, neatly dodging Bloom’s elbow. “How sweet.”

“Nice to see you again, Sky,” Flora said smoothly, ignoring their antics.

“You too, girls.”

“Uh, where’s Timmy?” Bloom asked, noticing the fourth member of their squad was missing. Out of the corner of her eye she spied Tecna leaning against the front gate, hands in the pockets of her jumpsuit, trying - and failing - to not look disappointed by his absence.

“He’s coming,” Sky said. “He was so eager to show Tecna our new squad ship that he decided to fly it over tonight.”

“ _ Your  _ squad ship?” Bloom repeated, picking up on his words.

Riven joined them, Brandon and Stella finally disentangling themselves from each other to come over as well.

“Yup,” Riven said smugly. “Third year squads get their own ships. We’ll get full access to it for all of our missions.”

Tecna stepped up to them as the ship landed just outside the gate, kicking up dust. “He wrote me a letter all about it,” she said, already moving past them.

Stella yelped something about her white jumpsuit but Tecna ignored her, barely letting the ramp of the ship touch down before she was clambering up. Timmy at the top held up a hand and called a greeting before the pair disappeared back inside.

Stella sighed loftily, shaking her head a little as she watched them go. “Young love.”

“Oh, leave them alone,” Bloom said in gentle admonishment.

Not wanting to wait for Timmy and Tecna to finish talking about the ship, which could easily take half the night, they all decided to go in and scope out a table for the party.

“How was your summer?” Bloom asked Sky once they’d claimed one.

Sky made a face, half joking, half serious. “Not too bad, all things considered. Mine and Diaspro’s parents took us to our private island to spend time together, hoping we’d agree to another engagement,” he explained, and Bloom felt her stomach drop. “And we told them in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t going to happen. An uncomfortable conversation but it had to happen.”

Bloom winced sympathetically. “How’s Diaspro?” She knew that Diaspro’s parents were even more hardcore than Sky’s and that ending the engagement was going to hurt her even more than Sky.

The blonde hero shrugged, looking worried. “She’s okay. Her parent’s have backed off for now, but she’s worried about what they’re going to do next.”

“We’ll be there for her,” Bloom said, reaching out to lay a hand on Sky’s arm. He still looked troubled. “No matter what.”

“She might not be interested,” he warned her. “Diaspro’s a very… well, she’s complicated. It takes a lot to get her to be vulnerable, and she hates asking for help.”

“Friends don’t have to ask.”

Finally, Sky started to smile and he laid his hand on top of hers, squeezing gently. “Thanks; I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Bloom smiled back and subconsciously leaned forward to say something, before Stella’s voice cut through the moment, reminding them both that they weren’t alone. Smiling sheepishly they both leaned back and turned their attention on the conversation the rest of the table was having.

“It’s a waste of time getting dressed up just for a back to school dance,” Riven was arguing, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his plain black hoodie.

Stella squawked in protest. “There are so many benefits to dressing well. It shows people you’re serious and take pride in your appearance, which is a good impression to make. And besides it makes you feel better.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled.

“I mean, look at Timmy,” Stella continued, clearly not ready to let the discussion drop. She gestured enthusiastically at Timmy and Tecna who had just arrived, both looking thoroughly confused. “He looks great in that shirt, is it new?”

Timmy frowned and scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah,” he said, although his voice lifted at the end, making it sound like a question. “Tecna picked it out and sent it to me this summer.”

Tecna inexplicably blushed pink and looked away. “I just saw it for sale and thought it would go nice with his…” Tecna coughed and trailed off, avoiding looking at Stella who was wearing a devious smile.

“Anyway, and what about Musa? She looks great tonight, see what happens when you take out the pigtails and drop the hoodies?”

“I like her pigtails,” Riven muttered under his breath, looking away.

It was Musa’s turn to blush and she spoke quickly to cover the pink spreading across her cheeks. “Look, how I dress is for me and me alone.”

“Exactly,” Stella said, sounding satisfied and Musa frowned wondering how she’d somehow managed to prove Stella’s point.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to hand those pixies over now,” the man said pleasantly as though he were discussing the weather and not holding up Layla’s desperate escape.

“Not gonna happen,” she said defiantly, backing away.

The man clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “Now that kind of attitude isn’t very nice.” There was something sinister in his voice that made the hair on the back of Layla’s neck stand up. “Maybe I need to teach you a lesson.”

Quicker than Layla thought possible the man lifted a scarred hand and aimed it at her, sending a handful of flames at her. In the split second it took to reach her she managed to twist so her side took the brunt of the hit rather than the pixies. 

She screamed at the impact, the flames hotter than anything she’d ever felt before. And they didn’t stop there, they seemed to claw their way inside of her until she was burning from the inside out. Gasping for breath, Layla used the dregs of her magic to force the water in the air to collect and douse her, extinguishing those terrible flames.

The magic cost her however and she no longer had any strength to stop the man as a red cage formed around the pixies and levitated them away from her.

“No,” she tried to yell, but it barely came out as a whisper. Then she had bigger things to worry about as the man stalked towards her, raising those sharp talons and moving to swipe at her with them. Layla rolled quickly out of the way and instead the man gouged deep marks into the rock floor.

“I’m growing tired of your insolence,” he sneered.

“Too bad,” she spat back, forcing herself to her feet. He threw more flames at her and she forced her tired body to dodge, yelping whenever she wasn’t fast enough.

“Enough,” he said, and clenched a fist.

Immediately Layla’s body locked up as though a giant, invisible hand were clenching her tight and she realised he had been playing with her the entire time.

“Wait,” she tried to gasp, but the force around her dragged her to the edge and she barely had time to take a breath before she was being pushed over.

Layla and the pixies screamed in tandem as the fairy felt the stomach lurching feeling of rushing through open air, and the pixies saw their closest friend fall to her certain death. All except Lockette, who, quick as a flash, summoned her sceptre and began to chant in a trembling voice.

“I call on this space to move and bend, and open a portal so I might save my friend.  _ I call on this space to move and bend, and open a portal so I might save my friend.” _

Over and over she spoke the words, forcing them through the thick, syrupy magic that encased them and just hoping that she was positioning the portal just right so Layla would go through it. Finally the gem on the end of her sceptre glowed a bright yellow and she felt the shudder as Layla disappeared into the portal.

“She’s gone,” she said, dismissing her sceptre back into a hair clip and sliding it back into place. “It worked.”

“Where did you send her?” Amore asked, twisting a tendril of her skirt nervously between her hands.

“Away,” Lockette said grimly, eyes locked on their captor.

The man turned to them, something unsettling about the dark eyes behind the helmet. “Now, it’s time for you to tell me where your village is.”

The pixies huddled together, many of them trembling in fear, but they each wore a look of determined resolve on their faces, none willing to betray their friends.

Faragonda took her place at the podium and looked out at her students, a smile on her face. “I’d like to welcome everyone to our annual Alfea/Red Fountain Back to School mixer. To the professors and returning students, I say welcome back and how lovely it is to see all your faces once again. To our new students, I say a warm hello and how excited I am to get to know you all.

“I know after last year we all needed time to heal so I can’t tell you how wonderful it is that you decided to return, we are lucky to have you as students. Over the summer break the school underwent remodeling to repair the damages sustained during the battle and I am very excited to unveil the new wing. After some careful consideration and discussion we have decided to name it the Asterin wing for the brave fairy we lost in the battle. Now without any further ado, I declare the new school year to have begun.”

Faragonda lifted her hands and the gigantic white sheet hiding the new tower from view dropped away to reveal it. It blended in perfectly with the rest of the school, and if you didn’t know that it was a recent fixture you probably wouldn’t notice that the pale pink sandstone and glittering glass fixtures were slightly newer than the rest. In the distance Bloom could just see a glimmer of metal by the door that she was sure was a plaque honoring Asterin’s memory.

Following Faragonda’s speech the party kicked into full gear and Stella was immediately on her feet, dragging Brandon out onto the dance floor. Sky, Riven, and Musa fell into a conversation about Riven’s summer at leva-bike camp, Flora got asked to dance by a fairy from the year above, while Timmy and Tecna were deep in a conversation about the ship again. So, when Bloom caught sight of Cyrenia standing alone on the outskirts of the party, she excused herself from the table and went to talk to her.

Cyrenia must have noticed her coming over because she turned to her and said, “It’s all your fault.”

Bloom blinked, stomach twisting in surprise. “What?”

It was only then that Bloom noticed the dust coating Cyrenia’s face and the tears sliding down her cheeks. “It’s your fault she’s dead.”

Bloom opened her mouth but nothing came out. She had no idea what to say to that, how to defend herself, but there was no defense because Cyrenia was right, it was all her fault, it was her fault that-

“Bloom? Bloom!”

Bloom blinked and the dust and tears disappeared from Cyrenia’s face, and the fairy looked happier and healthier than the last time she’d seen her.

“Are you okay, Bloom?” Cyrenia asked with a hesitant smile.

“Yeah, yeah of course. I should be asking you that. How are you?”

Cyrenia shrugged, her smile turning self-deprecating. “About as well as can be expected I guess. I spent the summer training with the Guardian Network, so that kept me pretty busy. I’m actually getting ready to go on my first mission but Faragonda asked me to come hear her speech and I didn’t want to miss it.” 

She gestured to the gate where a group of people were waiting for her. Among them Bloom could see the fairy twins that Cyrenia had fought with last year, and a witch, she thought had been the Cloud Tower class president.

“You’re teaming up with witches, hey?”

“Yeah, the Guardian Network is trying to promote more interspecies cooperation in their squads. We’re supposed to be the poster children for it or something.” Cyrenia rolled her eyes half-heartedly and grinned. “But Marilla and the others are cool.”

“That’s great. You look really good, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. I should probably go, there’s trolls terrorising the people of Linphea as we speak. Take care of yourself, Bloom.”

Bloom smiled and said goodbye, waving to Cyrenia until she disappeared out of the front gates. Bloom had to admit she was kind of stunned at how well Cyrenia was adjusting, she didn’t know if she would be so put together 3 months after losing a boyfriend. Hell, she hadn’t lost a boyfriend and she felt like Cyrenia was coping better than her.

The thought made Bloom frown and she was glad when Sky joined her, asking if she was okay.

“I’m alright, Cyrenia stopped by so I was just talking to her. Hey,” she said after a moment. “I love this song.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sky said, eyes crinkling as he smiled at her. “Dance with me?”

Bloom slipped her hand into his and together they joined the others on the dance floor.

The party was exactly what Bloom needed and she was feeling a lot better when the party finally wrapped up and the Red Fountain students started heading back to their own campus; even more so when Sky brushed a gentle kiss across her cheek before climbing onto his leva-bike and riding off with the rest of the guys.

“Oh, so that’s how it is, hey?” Stella crowed, throwing her arm around Bloom’s shoulder.

“Oh shush,” Bloom said even though she couldn’t stop smiling. “We’re just friends.”

“Is it normal for ‘just friends’ to hug each other hello, dance together all night, and say goodbye with a kiss on the cheek?” Musa asked. 

“Hey, I didn’t notice you dancing with anyone besides Riven.”

Musa flipped her off but didn’t respond. 

“Uh, guys,” said Tecna.

They stopped from where they were heading into the school and looked back to see Tecna lagging behind, and even further back, Flora standing staring at the forest that bordered Alfea.

“You good, Flo?” Musa called to her, before heading back over to their friend. Bloom and Stella followed, the latter grumbling and shivering in the evening air.

“What is it?” Bloom asked when they reached her, and Flora cocked her head like she was trying to hear something.

“The trees,” she said softly. “I think they’re trying to tell me something, but I can’t quite hear them.”

Bloom bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder to where the last of the students were disappearing inside and the teachers were packing up the tables from the party.

“Come on,” she said, and lead them closer.

“We’re supposed to go straight back to our dorm,” Tecna reminded them, but followed regardless.

“Stel, can you give us some light?”

They all squinted into the darkness, the lights from the castle not bright enough to illuminate very far into the trees, until Stella obediently conjured a ball of light to her hand and held it overhead. For a moment they saw nothing but forest, until Musa yelped and jumped backwards.

“Oh my god, who is that?!”

Bloom fought back the urge to curse as she also caught sight of the girl stumbling towards them, Stella’s light throwing harsh shadows across her face. The girl didn’t seem to notice them as she drew closer, her feet dragging heavily, as though it was taking all her willpower to keep going. Even from a distance they could hear her loud, pained breathing.

Not knowing who she was and what else to do, they crept backwards as she reached the edge of the forest and reached out blindly for another tree to lean against. Finding nothing, the girl stumbled, falling to her knees, before finally crumpling in a heap on the ground.

The girl falling seemed to act as a catalyst for the others, because they snapped out of their daze and rushed towards her, Bloom and Flora kneeling on either side while the others watched on. With gentle fingers, Bloom brushed the girl’s thick, dark hair back from her face, Concorda’s words echoing in her brain, ‘ _ I see you will soon meet someone new. A fairy, oh a Princess. She has long, dark hair, and this Princess will have a sleepy pixie with her. I see darkness and grave peril’. _

“Stella, go get help,” Flora ordered, and the blonde didn’t question it, just taking off, long dress and towering heels not slowing her down in the slightest.

Bloom tapped the girl’s cheek gently, but she didn’t wake up. Flora hovered close nearby but seemed scared to touch her, neither of them wanting to make her condition worse.

“What is that?” Musa asked suddenly. She crouched by the girls head and shifted her hair out of the way to see a snoring pixie curled up in the hood of the girl’s jacket.

Bloom felt her breath catch in her throat. “This is just like the psychic pixie said.”

“Who?”

“What psychic pixie?”

“What else did she say?”

The last question came from Flora, and Bloom met her friend’s gaze over the girl’s prone form.

“That we should expect danger around every corner.”


	2. Up To Their Old Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comas, classes, and cults (oh my)

“Go through it one more time,” Tecna instructed, and Bloom wasn’t the only one who heaved a sigh in response.

“Four bright lights around me,” she repeated dully. “A fifth weaker one that meant I was going to meet someone new. This new person was going to be a Princess, with long, dark hair, and traveling with a sleepy pixie. Concorda said the Princess was in grave danger but I would cross paths with her soon, and that she would act as a catalyst for a big change.”

“And that’s it?” Tecna prompted, regarding her friend with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

Bloom’s mind flashed over what Concorda had said about Sky, a detail she’d left out every time she’d been forced to recount her interaction with the psychic pixie. She shrugged and said, “And that there was going to be danger around every corner. The usual cheery stuff.”

On the opposite lounge Musa smirked, the picture of unconcerned nonchalance as she sprawled out.

“So do we think there’s any chance the girl we found the other night isn’t the Princess Bloom was supposed to meet?”

“Oh, come on Tec,” Stella said irritably, her patience waning. “It all fits. Concorda said they would meet soon and we found the girl that night, she had long dark hair, had the sleeping pixie with her, and certainly looked like she’d escaped grave danger.”

“And her parents certainly looked royal,” Musa remarked and Flora hummed an agreement. The pair had witnessed firsthand a couple who seemed to be the girl’s parents leading what looked to be an entire royal guard up to Faragonda’s office. And they hadn’t looked happy.

“So, why are we even still discussing this?” Stella asked. “It’s clearly her.”

Tecna folded her arms and looked away moodily. Bloom knew why they were still discussing it, even if she didn’t like it; because in the two days since they’d found the girl she hadn’t woken once and as far as they knew was still lying in a bed in the infirmary. So until she woke and they learnt more about what had happened to her, this was all they had to go on.

Flora sensing the growing tension broken in to smooth things over. “Come on, let’s not snap at each other, we’re all just tired. We’re not going to learn anything more until she wakes up.”

Stella and Tecna both grumbled an agreement, and Flora took it as a win, leaning back in her armchair and curling her feet up beneath her. Bloom scrambled for something to say without making the subject change too obvious.

“I wonder what happened to her though. Whoever she is, it was clearly something bad.”

Flora hummed sympathetically. “Whatever it was at least she’s safe now.”

“Unless it comes here,” Stella pointed out.

“Good luck getting close,” Musa muttered darkly and the others voiced their agreement.

The school’s healer had deemed it too dangerous to move the unconscious girl yet, so her parents had retired to one of Alfea’s guest suites in the teacher’s residential wing to wait. In the meantime the infirmary was being tightly guarded by a dozen fierce looking royal guards, and everytime they tried to get close they were barked at to move on.

“We’ll check on her again tomorrow,” Flora assured Bloom when her friend still looked worried.

“I think you mean today,” Tecna said, looking at her watch. They all scrambled to check their phones and sure enough it was well after midnight.

“By the Dragon,” Flora yelped. “We’re going to be so exhausted in classes.”

Stella scoffed. “Whatever, it’ll just be a bunch of introductions and outlines for the year, no big.”

Musa rolled her eyes and fought down a yawn. “This isn’t freshman year, Stel, we’re sophomores now, remember?”

“That just means we’ll finally be getting to the good stuff in class.”

“Which means you’ll actually have to concentrate this year?” Tecna asked, her mouth twitching.

Stella rolled her eyes goodnaturedly and unwound her long legs, getting to her feet. “Night darlings. This Princess needs her beauty rest.”

Musa made a strangled sound that might have been a laugh and Stella cheerfully flipped her off before sashaying into her room. Hiding their smiles, the other girls did the same.

_ “ _ I truly love myself.”

_ “Not as much as we love you.” _

“I love the birds in the sky.”

“ _ Not as much as they love you.” _

“I love Light Haven.”

_ “Not as much as it loves you.” _

“Peace be with you always.”

The man on the stage smiled out at the crowd, waiting for the last voice to die away. “And peace be with you all as well. That concludes our morning affirmations, go forth and have a truly splendid day.” The woman at his side smiled beatifically and nodded, her unbound hair dancing in the breeze.

“A truly splendid day for me would be hitting you with a thousand volts,” Stormy said under her breath, the brutality of her words at odds with the wide, almost manic smile stretched across her face. Hidden within the folds of her long robe, her fingers twitched, automatically reaching for the magic that was now blocked from her.

Icy looked like she wanted to agree, but the shifting of her guard behind her had her falling silent again. Looking around, it was easy to tell the criminals from the workers and supposedly reformed by who had a guard standing tall and imposing behind them. The guards were all tall and bedecked in blue armoured uniforms, sharp spears clenched in their right hands. They never seemed to speak except forthe three times a day when they were forced to congregate and recite the affirmations.

The High Minister spread his arms like he was trying to embrace everyone in the crowd and Icy felt like retching. It only got worse when she saw people in the crowd raise their arms as well to return the gesture and she felt actual bile rise in her throat.

“Come on,” she muttered to the other two. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” She was sure that if she stayed any longer, the person in front of her was going to wear her breakfast all over the back of his robe.

Their guards trailed a few paces behind them while they wandered through the markets that popped up in the retreat’s square on Sundays.

“You want to get anything, or shall we go trail aimlessly through the meadow until lunch?”

Stormy grumbled unintelligibly, but Darcy, gazing around with listless eyes didn’t answer.

“Darcy!” Icy snapped and the brunette’s eyes grew sharper as she came out of her daze.

“Let’s have a look,” she said, not sounding too excited about the prospect. “I have a token.”

“I thought you had two,” Stormy said on Icy’s other side. Neither of them had any.

“Miss Holier-Than-Thou revoked it last night when I told the bitch in the next room over to shut the fuck up,” Darcy grumbled, figiting with her long sleeves. 

Icy whistled, impressed. She had lost the five she had saved up the other day when someone had been singing in the dining hall and Icy had threatened to rip their throat out if they didn’t stop.

“A flower for your hair, miss?” a woman standing behind a nearby stall called out, interrupting them. Spread out in front of her were crowns woven with flowers of a hundred different colours and shades. Darcy’s lip curled back at the sight of them.

“I’d rather pluck my own eyes out,” she hissed.

The newer criminals would bare their teeth right back at such a display, while the reformed ones who had chosen to stay at the retreat would usually whimper and run scared, so Dacy was surprised when she saw something hard flash in the woman’s otherwise sweet face. For a moment she was expecting the woman to reach out and strike her and show them all a glimpse of the hardened criminal she had no doubt been once. But then the moment passed and her expression lapsed back into a peaceful calm.

“Maybe next time then, dear,” she said simply, before turning away to help another customer.

Darcy watched her go, horror clawing at her insides. The guards behind her hadn’t intervened but she knew they had noticed and would be marking the incident down in her record. Another mark against her name, another month where the Council would decide she wasn’t rehabilitated enough to leave, another step closer to becoming that woman with the flower crowns.

She felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen but still couldn’t seem to draw breath, and she thought she was going to faint right there, until Icy seized her robe and started to drag her stumbling towards the meadow.

“Get your shit together,” the blonde hissed, while Stormy trailed behind, distracting the guards by poking her tongue out at children and attempting to trip elderly members of the retreat passing by.

They reached the gate and entered, glad to see that everyone was still preoccupied with the markets and it was deserted. The guards were the only ones who followed and they trailed at a distance just out of earshot, more concerned with stopping any potential fits of rage than listening to their conversation.

“We’re going to end up like her,” Darcy hissed back, as Icy led her over to a tree and they all settled beneath it. The sun was warm, almost uncomfortably so, especially in their thick, long sleeved robes and Darcy pulled at the high neckline like it was choking her.

“We are not,” Icy scoffed, no trace of sympathy for her coven sister.

“Stay here long enough and we might,” Stormy grumbled, methodically ripping a flower to shreds.

Icy sneered at them. “Do you ever think we could end up like them? They’re soft, they gave into those pretty little affirmations and therapy sessions. Do you ever think they’ll come a day where we won’t want to rip Mr High Minister or his little acolytes limb from limb?”

As if summoned by her words, a nearby hidden speaker crackled to life and the High Minister’s voice began to assault them with one of those pre-recorded messages they loved to play.

_ “Good morning, happy guests!” _

The Trix growled in response.

_ “It’s a stunningly beautiful day here in Light Haven Retreat. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, it’s the kind of weather that makes you want to pull your neighbour into a warm embrace and say ‘isn’t it wonderful to be alive?’.” _

Stormy mimed projectile vomiting while in the distance they could see people doing exactly as the High Minister had said and were embracing each other.

_ “Remember today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present. Let us now take a few moments to quietly reflect on life's many bounties whilst listening to the soothing sounds of the Light Haven quartet.” _

The High Minister’s broadcast ended and was replaced by the quiet sounds of a string quartet and Darcy shuddered, thinking about what Icy had said. She thought about the High Minister’s infuriatingly happy face and calm voice that she was forced to listen to three times a day as he called out affirmations. She thought of the way the council cocked their heads sympathetically month after month at her evaluations before deciding that she hadn’t made enough progress to be released. She thought about how much she’d wanted to reach for her magic, smother them with darkness, and rip into their minds, twisting and destroying. She tilted back her head and smirked, maybe Icy had a point.

Beside her, Icy and Stormy were heckling another reformed ‘guest’ who was riding by on a pure white horse.

“Keep on prancing, pal,” Icy sneered.

“Yeah, nice hair. Did mummy do it for you?”

_ “Remember the path to inner peace lies within,”  _ The High Minister said after the musical piece was over, his voice rage-inducingly joyful. “ _ Happiness begins with you. And a good day is only a smile away. Think not of spreading evil or wreaking havoc, just listen to your heart’s true desires.” _

Darcy felt a vicious smile tug at her lips. “But my heart’s true desire  _ is  _ to spread evil and wreak havoc.”

Stormy rolled her eyes. “He can’t hear you,” she said, even though they were all convinced that the High Minister and his acolytes monitored every word spoken by their ‘guests’.

But Icy was smirking at her coven sister. “Got a hold of ourself, have we?”

Darcy shrugged elegantly and leant back on one hand, tilting her head to the sky and imagining that it was swirling with one of her sister’s electric storms. “Something like that.”

“Good,” the blonde said. “I don’t have time for your whining. If we’re going to get out of here, you can’t be curled up in a ball somewhere. Now, would somebody please destroy that thing?” she demanded, gesturing in the direction the High Minister’s voice was being projected from.

Stormy tilted her head consideringly, her dark curls shifting with the movement. “We’re not supposed to break stuff around here, but maybe it’s okay if I calmly disconnect it.”

_ “... after that we’ll be having cupcakes and tea on the north lawn while…” _

Stormy pushed herself off the grass, winding her way through the nearby trees until she found a knot on one that didn’t look quite real. The guards watched her curiously but didn’t intervene as she found the seam where it connected to the tree and began to pry it loose. With a grunt from her, and a sizzle of electricity from the speaker it finally came loose, bringing with it a tangle of wires and a gaping hole in the tree. To their dismay the High Minister’s voice continued to speak from it.

“ _... and now to get your spirit soaring, here’s an uplifting number from Crissy Cutebutton.” _

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Stormy said in a tightly controlled voice while her fingers dug so hard into the speaker that dents started to appear.

“Stormy,” Icy hissed, when the speaker began playing a sweet tune. “I feel like I’m going to gag.”

“ _ So many memories, and so many miles, the road that stretches behind us. We’ve had some laughter, and our share of tears, but all these moments unite us.” _

“Alright that does it,” Stormy growled, and, using all her strength, hurled the speaker away. “Shut up,” she yelled when the speaker didn’t go nearly far enough and they could still hear the singing.

“ _ I’ll be your friend for a lifetime, against the wind, and the rain of every season. Won’t walk away in the hard times, I will be your friend.” _

Stormy stalked towards it and kicked it as hard as she could, sending it another hundred feet. Infuriatingly, the music didn’t get any softer.

_ “I’m saying I will be your friend. Sure as the river runs to the sea, high as the mountain that reaches, you were there by my side ‘til the end, and helped me on my feet again.” _

“I can still hear it,” Darcy said, just in case Stormy wasn’t aware. “Stormy,” Darcy snapped when her coven sister did nothing but screech a little and tug at her curls. “I can still hear it!”

“ _ I’ll be your friend for a lifetime, against the wind, and the rain of every season. Won’t walk away in the hard times, I will be your friend. I’m saying, I will be your friend.” _

“Stop the insanity!” Stormy wailed over the singer’s shrill voice, and Darcy and Icy rolled their eyes in unison.

“Make it stop, Darcy,” Icy said through gritted teeth, glaring at the guards who seemed impassive to their pain.

The brunette sighed but clambered to her feet to help Stormy search. Together they looked in bushes and up trees, scowling everytime they unearthed yet another speaker.

“ _ So in the valley walk on, don't have to face it alone, ‘cause in the hard times we keep growing strong.” _

“Just die,” Darcy hissed, hitting a speaker disguised with a rock with another rock. Or what she thought was a rock, until she looked closer and realised with horror that the music was coming from it as well.

“ _ As we learn, as we live, that we live when we give.” _

Stormy dived into a bush with a shriek, convinced that it had to be hiding yet another speaker, while Darcy slumped on the ground, giving up, and Icy watched on shaking her head. Behind them, the guards remained unmoved; as long as they weren’t hurting each other or the other guests they were content to let them continue.

“ _ I’ll be your friend for a lifetime, against the wind, and the rain of every season. Won’t walk away in the hard times, I will be your friend. I’m saying, I will be your friend.” _

“We are so fucked,” Icy muttered, as the song finally wound down. With a sigh, she flopped onto her back and looked up at the annoyingly clear sky.

_ “I will be your friend.” _

Bloom balanced her head in her hand, resisting the urge to shut her eyes and doze off. Shaking herself a little, she tried to sit up and pay attention, but for a moment all she could see was Asterin’s pale face and the voice from her dream the night before.

‘ _ You did this. You did this to me.’ _

“What can you girls tell me about opposites?”

Lysippe’s voice cut through the classroom and Bloom jerked a little in her seat. Up the front the professor was lecturing, rare for her, and Bloom forced herself to concentrate and start filling her blank page with notes.

“I just read in Teen Fairy’s dating column that opposites attract,” Amaryl said, lazing in her seat with a smirk.

Lysippe looked unimpressed and the smirk slowly disappeared from Amaryl’s face as she coughed awkwardly and straightened in her seat.

Lysippe raised an eyebrow, and glanced around the classroom. “Anyone else?”

Tecna raised her hand, and when the professor called on her said, “The Magical Dimension is full of opposites because magic relies on balance. For every action, there is an equal reaction, and without this it’s very dangerous. It’s why there are magic users who use positive emotions to fuel their magic, and magic users who use negative emotions, and those who use both. Or why we can only use magic for a certain length of time before we run out.”

“Good,” Lysippe said. “Understanding the balance of the universe and your magic is integral to a Guardian Fairy. And of course, using negative emotions to fuel magic is different from using actual dark magic. Dark magic tips the balance of the universe and is why the Guardian network exists to combat these dark forces.”

Her words washed over Bloom, fading into a dull drone until it became increasingly hard for her to keep her eyes open, made only worse when Lysippe crossed the room and turned off the light. The professor summoned a small ball of green light to her hand.

“What I hold here is called paradoxical energy; in a dark room it becomes a ball of light. But when I turn the lights back on.” Here Lysippe flipped the switch again and the overhead lights flicked back on. “It becomes imperceptible.” Sure enough her hand was still cupped as though holding something, but the paradoxical energy had become invisible. “Anyone can see a light in a room full of darkness, but it takes a combination of strong magical power and awareness to see the darkness in a room full of light.”

Bloom tilted her head, interest momentarily piqued. She thought she’d be good at finding the evil person in a room full of good, but remembering her encounter with Diaspro at the exhibition last year she realised maybe that wasn’t the case. Concorda’s voice tickled the back of her mind, something about keeping her eyes peeled for danger, but Bloom was too tired to remember her exact words.

“Enadred’s rule of opposing forces states that all opposites exist both…” Lysippe’s voice faded back into its dull drone, and Bloom found herself yawning and fading out until the blare of the school bell woke her out of her stupor twenty minutes later.

“I want those reports on my desk by Friday,” Lysippe called over the scraping of chair legs. “But I suggest you start on them sooner rather than later. We’re going to start applying the practical functions Enadred’s theory tomorrow in class.”

“Shit,” Bloom cursed, looking down at her blank notebook; she had a lot of reading to do that night.

“By the Dragon, what a drag that was,” Stella said as the group of friends slowly made their way out of the classroom, lagging behind everyone else who were eager to get out of their last class of the day.

“Yeah, so much for it just being intros and outlines.” Musa was so tired that she didn’t even notice her pigtails were askew.

“At least it’s over now,” Tecna said, shoving her notebook into her bag.

“Yeah, but how much homework have we got already,” Bloom pointed out, thinking about the chapter Callas had told them to read, the summary on wind patterns they had to write for Faylinn, and a detailed plan for what to do when confronted by beetleroaches for Palladium’s class.

Stella hushed her. “All I want to do now is get back to the dorm and slip into a nice, warm bath.”

“We don’t have a bath,” Musa reminded her.

The dreamy look disappeared from Stella’s face. “Oh, right. That was the one perk of my palace.”

“Besides,” Flora said. “I was thinking we could stop by the infirmary and try to sneak in.”

The others exchanged looks and Bloom shrugged.

“Beats doing homework,” Musa said, and they changed course to head for the infirmary instead.

The closer they got the more guards they seemed to see, their gold amour buffed to perfection and standing out starkly against their dark skin. Each guard stood perfectly still, staring straight ahead with eyes that ranged from pale sea greens to shades of onyx so deep the iris was almost indistinguishable from the pupil. They paid the girls no mind so, squaring their shoulders, the five friends made for the door to the infirmary stopping short only when the two guards standing on either side abruptly crossed their tridents, barring their entry. The weapons were easily as long as the guards were tall and made of the same polished gold as their amour. The end came to three razor points, so sharp that Bloom thought a mere brush of a fingertip against would draw blood. She could see runes etched along the shafts of the tridents but not having the opportunity to study runes until the following year, Bloom had no idea what they meant.

“What is your business here?” One of the guards rumbled and Bloom noticed that his trident was the only one that wasn’t identical to the others. Where the others were unadorned beyond the runes, this guard’s trident had a striking, blue gem set into the middle point.

They were all speechless except for Stella, who opened her mouth to no doubt unleash all manner of snarky retorts. But the guards were saved from the tongue lashing when the very door they were guarding flew open.

“Well, I never,” Ofelia gasped, seeing the crossed tridents. “Is this strictly necessary?”

The guards ignored her, continuing to stare at the teenagers suspiciously. Behind them, Ofelia’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ll remind you,” she began haughtily. “That you were permitted to guard my infirmary on the basis that your presence wouldn’t disturb my work. Now are you going to let these students come in and get the healing they require? Or,” she continued dangerously when the guards gave no indication that they were willing to move. “Am I going to have to get the headmistress?”

The guard with the unadorned trident wavered before looking to his companion, who, Bloom was willing to bet, was his superior. The other guard narrowed his eyes at the girls but relented, jerking his trident back to his side, the other guard following a heartbeat later. The girls ducked their heads and hurried in, waiting until Ofelia had shut the door behind them to speak.

“Thank you, Ofelia,” Flora said. “But we weren’t actually in need of any healing. We were the ones who found that girl the other night and we just wondered how she was doing.”

Ofelia smiled a little sadly and gestured for them to follow her down the row of beds, stopping at the only occupied one.

“That’s really nice of you girls. I’m sure Miss Asherah would appreciate the company if she was awake.”

“Has she woken up at all?” Bloom asked in dismay, looking down to where the girl was still sleeping, dark hair spilling across the crisp white sheets.

“It’s Winx Depletion Syndrome. She drained herself so completely of magic that it physically exhausted her.”

“Is it serious?”

“It can be, but I think she’s going to be just fine. The worst of it is behind her. It’s just important that she be allowed to rest as long as she needs, which is why I couldn’t allow her parents to take her home yet.”

“Her parents?”

“The King and Queen of Andros,” Ofelia said, voice dropping to a whisper as she glanced furtively at the closed door. “Surely you noticed all the guards outside? Although I don’t know who they think would be stupid enough to attack her here.”

“So, she is a Princess then?” Stella asked with a pointed look at Tecna, who ignored her.

Ofelia nodded. “Princess Layla.”

Stella glanced at the girl, Layla, again, something like recognition sparkling in her eyes but she didn’t speak.

“Feel free to sit with her a while, I’m afraid she hasn’t had many visitors.”

“What do you mean?” Bloom asked with a frown as the others dragged some chairs over. “Aren’t her parents staying here.”

Ofelia hesitated. “The King and Queen are very busy,” she finally said, voice careful. “They have many matters to attend to.”

Bloom’s frown deepened, thinking of the parents who had come all the way from their home planet only to never see their daughter, and of all the guards lining the hallway outside. All those people around her and yet the Princess was still all alone.

“Actually, I’m glad you girls stopped by; I have to go down to the labs to restock my potion supplies but I might be a while and I was worried about leaving her alone in case she woke up. Will you girls stay with her while I’m gone?”

They assured her they would and Ofelia bustled off, closing the door firmly behind her. On the bed the girl, Layla, tossed her head a little, mumbling in her sleep. They all leant in eagerly but after a moment she settled again, her eyes remaining closed.

“So, I guess this is her,” Tecna said, gesturing to the girl’s prone form. “The great catalyst for change.”

Bloom nodded glumly, propping her feet up on the edge of the bed. There was a heartbeat of silence, as if they were all waiting for something miraculous to happen, but all Layla did was sigh a little and turn her head to face the other way.

“She’s also a new friend though, right?” Flora said. “I wonder what she’s like?”

“Royals are usually the worst,” Musa said, and Bloom kicked her lightly, raising her eyebrows as if to remind Musa that two of her best friends were royalty. Musa grinned in response.

“You know her, Stel?”

Stella shrugged - an elegant movement - and withdrew a nail file from her pocket. “A bit. I think we’ve been to a few of the same galas but I don’t really remember talking to her much. Androsians tend to keep to themselves.”

Layla gave a gasp so loud and sudden that Bloom jerked upright and Tecna almost fell off her chair in surprise. Even Stella put her file away and looked on with interest. The Princess’ pretty face scrunched up in distress and she tossed her head back and forth, eyes still tightly shut.

“No,” she mumbled, speaking for the first time, and across her sleeping form Bloom met Flora’s eye. “No, please. Get away!” Layla’s voice rose in both volume and fear, but throughout it all she remained asleep.

Flora half rose from her chair. “Should I go get Ofelia?”

Before she could stand fully or the others could make a decision, a movement from the little side table that separated Layla’s bed from the next one over, drew their attention. What had previously appeared to be a lump of cloth was suddenly unfurling, and a head of mauve curls was peeking out the top. The girls exchanged glances before looking back at the pixie who seemed to take no notice of them as she rubbed her eyes and crawled from the nest of blankets.

“Layla?” she asked sleepily, frowning when she took in the fairy’s distressed state.

The pixie sat back on her heels and withdrew a draw-string pouch that was secured to her belt. Opening it, she took out a handful of the purple, glittery sand inside and scattered it over Layla’s sleeping form, the girl immediately settling, and sighing, as she slipped back into a calm sleep.

Flora leant forward eagerly. “Was that Sweet Dream Dust?”

The pixie startled a little as if noticing them for the first time, and blinked rapidly as she took them in.

“Of course,” she said in a sweet, dreamy voice. “I’m a pixie of Sweet Dreams. Goodnight.” And before the girls could ask anymore questions, the pixie had crawled back into the pile of blankets and fallen back asleep, the sound of quiet, little snores emanating from the heap.

“Amazing,” Flora breathed, touching her finger to the stray sand grains that clung to the otherwise pristine white sheets. She held her finger up to get a closer look and immediately let out a wide yawn. “Sweet Dream pixies are one of the few sources of naturally occurring sleep aides. People have tried to recreate it synthetically but the results are never….” Flora paused and yawned again. “.... never as good.”

She started to rub her eyes and Stella made an impatient noise, leaning over to brush the Sweet Dream Dust from her friend’s skin.

“Thanks,” Flora said, still sounding a little sleepy, and the girls lapsed into silence, pondering what they could talk about while they watched the sleeping girl.

Stella looked at Bloom across the bed, weighing the words she wanted to say. “Bloom,” she finally said carefully. “Did you hear about the Trix?”

The other girls reacted immediately; Musa stiffening and glaning between Bloom and Stella, Tecna suddenly becoming engrossed in her phone, and Flora biting her lip and wringing her hands nervously.

For most of the summer Bloom hadn’t wanted to know what became of the Trix. They haunted her enough already, in both her dreams and her waking hours, and Rhonwen made her talk about them in every session. Her connectix account had been flooded with mentions of them however, news articles about their highly publicised trial, speculation about what punishment the justice conclave would choose, people recounting their actions left, right, and centre. It meant however that the second the decision was made, Bloom had heard about it.

‘ _ The witches known as Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, will be held in the rehabilitation facility, Light Haven Retreat, for an indefinite period until it can be determined that they have seen the error of their ways and show real repentance for their actions. At which point they will be allowed to rejoin magical society.” _

Bloom had read and reread the words more times than she could count; still even had the scar on her forearm from where upon first hearing the news she had, full of feelings of anger and injustice, thrown herself overzealously into the day’s roller derby match and come off worse for it. The anger at the justice fairies decision, as well as the knowledge that the Trix would someday be allowed to rejoin society, still simmered deep within Bloom, but for the sake of the worried looks on her friend’s faces she forced herself to remain calm.

“Yeah, I heard,” she said lightly, when all she wanted to do was scream. “It is what it is, right?”

“It’s shit,” Musa said bluntly, looking at her with a fierce, dark gaze.

Bloom just shrugged. “What can you do? Maybe they really will be rehabilitated.”

Musa looked like she highly doubted that, but, surprising Bloom, didn’t argue the point. Just nodded a little and let it go.

“Well, I heard Light Haven is the worst. It’s supposed to be horribly cute and all about positive thinking,” Flora said,

“ _ You’re  _ saying it’s horribly cute?” Stella said accusingly, gesturing to the sweet strawberry clips that she was wearing in her hair.

The girl giggled and nodded.

“If that’s the case then I guess they got their punishment after all.”

“Good,” Tecna said suddenly, surprising them all with her vehemence. “It’s what they deserve.”

Before anyone could remark on her words, Layla made another soft noise and when they glanced at her it was to see her eyes slowly fluttering open. They all sat up, watching as she rubbed her eyes before bringing her hand back to look at the dream dust that was now coating her fingers.

“Hey there,” Flora said gently, and the smile on Layla’s face immediately disappeared.

She pushed herself up and back against the metal bars of the headboard, looking at them all warily. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“You’re at Alfea, you turned up on the grounds a few days ago.”

Layla’s eyes shuttered closed and she grimaced. “The school for fairies in Magix. That makes sense.”

“It does?” Musa asked, raising an eyebrow.

Layla didn’t answer. “And you’re all students here?”

“Yeah, I’m Flora. And this is Bloom, Musa, Tecna, and Stella. We were the ones who found you the other day.”

“Layla,” she said, introducing herself with a wave. “I suppose I owe you guys a thank you then.”

“It was nothing. We’re just glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah,” Layla said quietly. “Me too.”

There was a beat of silence where both parties waited for the other to speak, the girls obviously eager to hear about how Layla had ended up injured and at Alfea, but Layla just looked away. “Hey, Piff,” she said, her voice growing happier. “She’s here. Is she okay?”

“We think so. She woke up earlier and sprinkled some Sweet Dream Dust on you. You must have been having a nightmare.”

“I was.” Layla touched Piff’s curls gently but didn’t wake the slumbering pixie. She slowly looked back at them all, biting her lip.

“Hey,” Bloom said kindly. “You can trust us, whatever it is. If you need to talk about what happened to you, we’re here.”

“It’s just-” Layla glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. “I’m guessing you guys know I’m a Princess.”

“Of Andros,” Tecna said, nodding. “First born of King Teredor and Queen Niobe. Andros is a realm best known for its exquisite oceans and diverse marine life-”

“Tec,” Musa said softly, before looking back at Layla.

“Yeah, well, they’re pretty protective. And they would be furious if they found out about any of this and would probably never let me out again.”

“We can keep a secret,” Stella said casually, but her tawny eyes were dark with determination.

Layla took a deep breath. “I was trapped in the Under Realms.”

The effect on the girls was instantaneous, many of them gasping and rearing back in their chairs. Bloom, however, was lost.

“What are the Under Realms?”

Musa shook her head and leant back even further in her chair, looking like she wanted to physically distance herself from the mere mention of the place. “Bad place, girl. Bad things happen to you down there.”

Flora shivered delicately, and Stella looked unusually grave. “It’s like the Magical Dimension’s boogie monster,” she said. “My parents used to say they’d send me there if I was bad. But they wouldn’t. No one goes there.”

Tecna made an impatient noise. “Of course people go there.” The others looked at her incredulously and she held up her hands. “Okay, not many,” she amended, turning to Bloom to explain. “It’s a planet that’s surface is so barren and unlivable that everyone there went underground to survive. Between that and the fact that they pretty much keep to themselves, certain rumours have developed about them. So not many people go there, usually just kids on dares trying to prove they’re brave.”

“Dumbasses,” Musa muttered, and Flora nodded fervently.

“Well,” Layla said slowly. “I didn’t just go down into the under realms. I went to Shadowhaunt.”

Stella yelped, Flora shuddered and made a gesture like she was warding off evil, and even Tecna looked stunned.

“I’m assuming no one goes to Shadowhaunt either,” Bloom said. Tecna shook her head wordlessly.

“The rumours about it are true,” Layla said miserably. “I’ve never been to a place with such negativity energy. But I had to!” she burst out. “I had to go!”

“Hey,” Bloom said gently, touching her hand. “It’s okay. Just start from the beginning.”

Layla nodded. “When I was a little girl on a trip to Magix I snuck away from my parents and discovered a pixie village not too far.” A sad smile played around Layla’s lips. “They were funny and nice and I made friends with them, I even bonded with Piff when I was older. My parents weren’t massively keen on it all, they didn’t understand why I would want to hang out with them I guess, but they would let me go back and visit them sometimes. This last time I snuck off and went on my own because I didn’t want guards hanging over me.

“But when I was on my way there, I found one of the pixies, Lockette, hiding from a bunch of monsters. She and some of the others had been out picking fruit for the Autumn festival when they were attacked. She’s a pixie of Portals so she was able to find the best place to hide but the monsters took the others. Lockette knew there were more monsters out there and she was worried about leading them back to her village. The pixies are stronger than you’d think and put up a good fight, but even they wouldn’t have been able to take on these monsters.

“We couldn’t go back, but with her powers Lockette was able to work out where the others had been taken. They’d been taken to Shadowhaunt. I tried to get them out but-” Layla broke off and looked away, pressing her lips tightly together.

“What happened, Layla?”

“This thing was keeping them in a cage. I don’t even know how to describe it. It looked like a person but I’ve never come across anything like it before.”

“It’s okay,” Musa said, sounding unusually soft. “You got out of there.”

“But he still has my friends. And I don’t know what he’s going to do to them. And I have to save them, but my parents will never let me if they find out.”

“We’ll tell Faragonda, she’ll alert the Guardian network, and they’ll send a team immediately to rescue them.”

But Layla shook her head wildly at Tecna’s suggestion. “No! It had to be me. I left them behind, I should never have left them.”

Flora shuffled closer and slipped an arm around the distraught girl’s shoulders. Layla stiffened at the contact before relaxing again.

“It wasn’t your fault, Layla.”

Layla didn’t look like she believed Flora’s words but she didn’t argue. Instead she met Bloom’s eyes. “I need to be the one to save them.”

Bloom stared at her for a long moment. “Okay,” she said finally. “Then we’re going with you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, we do.” It was Stella who spoke this time. “This is what we’re training to do, and besides we can’t let you go back there alone.”

“There’s still the issue of my parents,” Layla reminded her.

Bloom glanced around at her friends, a smile starting to tug at her mouth as she thought of all the times they’d broken the rules and snuck around last year. Musa, reading her mind, was already grinning. “I’m sure we can work something out.” She looked back at Layla, the Princess’ dark eyes guarded but Bloom thought she saw a glimmer of hope shining through as well. “All for one and one for all.”

The Lord of Shadowhaunt lounged in his throne glaring at the empty room and thinking about how he was going to make those insolent pixies pay for continuing to defy him. The very thought of their terrified faces had him gouging deep grooves into the arms of his throne with his talons.

There was a shuffle from the corner of the room. “Was there anything you needed, my Lord?”

The Lord sighed and shifted, thinking.

“The plan,” he said, instead of answering. “Is it ready?”

“Yes, my Lord. Just a few more days and everything will be set in motion.”

He remained quiet, knowing it made his companion nervous, before finally humming noncommittally. He was missing something, he just wasn’t sure what.

“Those witches,” he said finally.

“I’m sorry my Lord, which witches?”

“The ones you were telling me about.”

“Ah, the ones who summoned the Army of Decay.”

“Yes. Clever, clever, clever.”

“But young, my Lord,” his companion reminded him. “And they were defeated.” There was a warning in his companion’s voice and a flicker of irritation flashed through him at the insolence. An irritation that cemented the half-formed idea in his head.

“And where did you say they were being held again?”

His companion didn’t immediately answer, a half-breath of a sigh escaping him. The Lord’s irritation mountain and his talons punched through the arm of his throne.

“Light Haven, my Lord,” his companion said hurriedly.

A chuckle escaped the Lord, and he delighted in the way it made his companion shudder. Rising from the throne he stretched and shifted, revelling in the feeling of his shadowed wings unfurling.

“Might I ask where you are going, my Lord?”

The Lord grinned. “For a field trip.”

Darcy blew out a gentle breath trying to ignore how hot the thick robe felt against her skin in the late afternoon sun, and watched as a couple walked past hand in hand.

“Ah,” she said through gritted teeth. “What a beautiful couple.” Her words were stiff with her discomfort but she forced herself to continue. “Young love is the fruit on which my happiness feeds. All you need is love.”

She stopped and waited expectantly but there was only silence. She sighed and forced herself to sit up. “Come on, ladies,” she said to the other two. “Try it out.”

Icy glared at her where she was idly swinging back and forth on a hammock stretched between two trees. Nearby Stormy was sitting at the base of a tree, quivering with rage as she was slowly but completely covered in flowers falling from the tree’s branches.

“Stormy.”

Stormy just growled at her.

“Icy!”

“Fine,” the blonde snapped. “Oh, how the blossoms dance in the breeze on this lovely afternoon, it makes me oh so happy.” Icy’s voice seethed with barely contained fury.

“Life is such a beautiful and precious thing,” Stormy spat out quickly, looking disgusted by the words.

Darcy sighed. “If we’re gonna try and get out on good behaviour, you guys might wanna sound a little more convincing.”

Stormy bared her teeth at her before saying slowly and purposefully, “I. Am. So. Overcome. With. Peace. And-”

“Oh forget it, Stormy,” Icy sighed, throwing an arm over her eyes. “It’s useless.”

Darcy opened her mouth to retort but before she got a word out there was a rumble of ominous thunder and dark, threatening clouds billowed across the sky. Icy slowly peeked out from under her arm, while Darcy and Stormy exchanged glances.

“What’s going on?” Icy asked, as she sat up and slid off the hammock.

They glanced at their guards standing nearby, who were muttering amongst themselves and shooting worried looks at the sky. A sudden crack of lightning touched down nearby only made their worry increase.

Stormy meanwhile let out a cackle of laughter. “Finally some decent weather!”

“Back to your dorms,” one of the guards barked and began to usher them out of the meadow. Nearby other guests were doing the same.

“This looks really bad!” Darcy said, her voice gleeful.

“Yes. Isn’t it great?”

They had almost reached the gate leading out of the meadow when the very air in front of them seemed to rip open and a tall, armoured man stepped through. The Trix’s guards charged forward but the man swept them away with a lazy flick of his hand. The guards hit the ground hard and didn’t move again.

“Oh my,” Icy said silkily, looking between them and the man in front of them.

“It’s get out of jail free time, ladies.”

“Oooh, I like him,” Darcy cooed.

Through the gaps of his helmet, Icy could see the man grin. “It’s time to go.”

“My mother told me never to talk to strangers.”

The man watched them standing their ground for a moment before taking Icy’s hand and bringing it to where his lips would be behind the helmet. Icy smirked.

“You can call me Lord Darkar. Now are you coming? Or do you want to stay here and keep learning to love thy neighbour.”

Icy looked first at Darcy who raised her eyebrows, and then at Stormy, who was grinning maniacally at Darkar.

“I suppose you’ll do.”

Darkar chuckled and gestured for them to go through the rip he’d emerged from. The Trix grinned at each other and stalked forward. They were less impressed however when they realised they had only been taken so far as the courtyard where they did their affirmations.

“Well, that was lame,” Darcy sighed, even though it did give her a thrill of joy to see everyone running for cover.

“Did you really think I was going to break you out without letting you have some fun? But first, we must do something about those robes.” 

Red swirls of magic erupted from Darkar’s hands and immediately their sack-like beige robes disappeared, replaced with the clothes from their old wardrobes. How Darkar had gotten them, the Trix didn’t know, but in that moment they didn’t particularly care either.

“Now, how about we restore your powers next?” Darkar crooned, more magic spilling from his palms.

They felt the change as soon as it happened, like a pressure lifting off their chests. Stormy immediately laughed another of her cackling laughs and thrusted her hands into the air, electric bolts raining down on the courtyard all around them. Darcy let out her own delighted chuckle as dark, black and purple magic appeared, shrouding her hands in darkness. Icy however merely stood, a hand on her hip, staring at Darkar expectantly.

“My dear?” he enquired.

“Well, is that it?” she demanded. “You give us our regular old powers back and we’re supposed to fall at your feet?”

Darkar cocked his head, regarding her curiously. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had been so bold to address him in such a manner, but something about it made him smile and want to reward her courage. So he summoned three pieces of jewellery he’d tucked away long ago.

“I suppose I do have these.”

Icy, Darcy, and Stormy’s eyes immediately narrowed on the jewellery. Even without touching them or knowing their origins they could feel how old they were and how much power was contained in the simple, dull pendants. They immediately snatched for them but Darkar jerked them back at the last minute, laughing openly at the hateful looks they threw his way.

“Not so fast. By accepting these you’ll also be accepting my offer to join me, and all the perks that that entails.”

“Yes, yes,” Icy hissed impatiently. “Fine. Now give it.”

Darkar laughed again and tossed the necklace her way, a bracelet going to Darcy and Stormy each. They wasted no time pulling them on. Icy’s necklace of scratched silver, and pale, blue gems went around her throat, Stormy’s bracelet of dented bronze and chipped rubies around her right wrist, and Darcy’s tarnished gold and amethyst bracelet around her left wrist. Despite their shabby appearance, power thrummed through the jewellery and into the witches.

“That’s better,” Icy purred, flexing her fingers as ice began to form on them.

“You’re welcome,” Darkar said silkily. “Now, I have a little going away present for you.”

He gestured ahead of him where an entire company of guards were barrelling towards them, weapons in hand.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Stormy grinned.

Darcy allowed the guards to get a look at her ferocious grin before she swept a hand towards them, purple magic exploding from her palm, stopping them dead. For a moment it looked as though her magic had had no effect, but she knew that the spell was working to convince the guards that they could see nothing but endless darkness. Only a few seconds later and more than half the company had dropped their weapons to claw at their eyes. It was a hard spell to maintain on them all at once though, even with her increased powers, however, and slowly those with stronger minds began to break through the illusion.

“Nicely done, Darcy,” Icy said. “Now me and Stormy will finish them off.”

Stormy conjured the twister first and Icy added snow to it, sending the circling snow storm at the guards before they had a chance to scatter. Those who weren’t caught up in and flung far away, were instantly frozen solid, and either way the threat was suddenly rendered moot.

“That’s the problem with positive thinkers,” Icy chuckled, walking up to one of the guards, and dragging her nails down the ice covering his cheek. “They just never know when it’s time to give up.”

“Nicely done, ladies,” Darkar complimented them. He waved an arm and another portal appeared. “Now it’s time for you to join me in my castle. We have work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this chapter (especially the scenes with Icy, Darcy, and Stormy) were tons of fun to write.
> 
> This has to be one of my favourite episodes just for the Trix scenes (seriously if you have not seen this episode in the 4kids dub, you gotta do it, I freaking die every time). I decided to just go full cult with the Light Haven scenes, and they were fun as to write, so I hope you enjoyed them. If you're the curious, the song I used in the first Light Haven scene in the meadow was called I'll Be Your Friend by Micheal J Smith (it's super sappy - for the full experience, listen to it while you read that scene).
> 
> I don't think there's much to say in this A/N except that I'm sorry it took me a while to get this out, life has been crazy as always. I also have two series of Winx Club one shots and drabbles you guys should check out.
> 
> Just gonna mention again that I took inspo from the amazing Drops-of-moonlights on tumblr for the pixies' design. He has his own rewrite AU that you should all definitely check out.
> 
> Stay safe everyone and don't forget to tell me what you thought of the chapter xxxx


	3. Into The Under Realms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Layla teams up with all our faves to save the pixies but things are not immediately smooth sailings

The infirmary was dark around Layla, still holding onto the last remnants of night even as the sun rose steadily and students started to move around the school. Alfea’s healer, Ofelia would be arriving soon after being encouraged enough by Layla’s recovery to spend the night in her own quarters rather than watching over her. But in these last few minutes before she arrived, Layla was glad for the privacy. Between waking up surrounded by five strangers, and having Ofelia and her parents fuss over her once they’d left, Layla was glad just to have a moment alone to think about everything that had happened over the last few days.

The Lord of Shadowhaunt had haunted her dreams since her escape, and she couldn’t get past the crushing guilt over leaving the pixies behind in his clutches. She was terrified to go back down there but even more terrified to consider what would happen to the pixies if she didn’t. After everything they’d done for her, leaving them behind wasn’t an option, she was going back.

The question wasn’t then if she was going down into the Under Realms to rescue the pixies, but how she was going to get there. The five unfamiliar girls had insisted they would come with her but Layla didn’t know them from a bar of soap, and she wasn’t particularly enthused to go on a dangerous mission with people she didn’t know. But then again it was going to be hard to get back to the Under Realms without their help, especially now that Lockette wasn’t there.

Layla rolled over with a sigh, figuring she could start down the plan they’d managed to cobble together before Ofelia had returned and do her own thing when the time was right. But that didn’t mean things were going to be easy either. The first step of the plan involved her parents, and talking to the King and Queen of Andros was more like war negotiations than a teenage girl talking to her parents.

Layla huffed out a breath and rolled back the other way. She was an early riser by nature and it felt weird to still be in bed when usually she and her brothers would have started their lessons hours ago. She sat up, thinking she might wake Piff and see what the pixie thought of her plan to go back into the Under Realms before realising with an unpleasant jolt that she was gone from the bedside table.

Frowning, Layla slipped out of bed and padded over to the windows, drawing back the curtains and flinching at the bright sunshine that flooded the room. Her frown turned into a full grimace as she saw Piff fly past, the pixie’s eyes firmly closed as she went. It didn’t happen often but occasionally Piff would dream about flying and her wings, not realising the rest of her was still asleep, would start to flutter, taking her off somewhere with the pixie none the wiser.

Gritting her teeth and not stopping to change out of the infirmary dress they’d put her in, Layla hurried from the room, almost taking Ofelia out as she burst through the door and past the guards.

“Miss Asherah?”

“Princess Layla?”

“Your Highness?”

“What is it, Princess?”

“Nothing,” she yelled over her shoulder, injecting as much authority into her voice as she was able to manage, barefoot and wearing an infirmary gown as she was. “Stay where you are!”

“Princess, we have orders-”

The noise faded away as she turned the corner and hurtled along the next corridor; they were welcome to follow if they wanted but her bonded pixie was in danger and Layla wasn’t stopping for anyone. She soon encountered another problem however, as Alfea was bigger and more of a maze than she had realised and she soon had no idea where she was. The hallways were empty of students and Layla had no idea how to get down to the quad.

She ran along, trying door after door, many of which were locked, and the ones that did open looked to be teacher’s offices. Finally she found a staircase and she hurtled down it, dodging a pair of giggling freshmen who stared after her in bemusement as she went past. She jumped the last few steps and found what she guessed was the entrance hall, crossed it quickly and shoved open the heavy double doors.

She dashed outside and looked around wildly, catching sight of a speck high in the air that had to be Piff. Before Layla had a chance to call out to her and attempt to wake her up, the speck abruptly stopped in midair and dropped, falling through the air towards the hard ground.

“No!” Layla screamed, and tore across the grass, knowing she was unlikely to catch Piff in time but needing to try. “Piff! Wake up!”

Piff approached the ground rapidly and Layla knew with a sinking feeling in her stomach that she wasn’t going to reach the pixie in time. She gave one last desperate scream and Piff jerked to a stop, only a few feet from the grass. The pixie yawned and rubbed her eyes a little but didn’t wake, flying away once more.

“Come on, Piff,” Layla sighed, jogging after her. The fairy liked to think she was pretty fit but even after being in the infirmary for days she could still feel the effects of the Under Realms weighing on her.

Layla gritted her teeth as Piff zoomed through an open window into the classroom beyond, and dashed for the nearest door. Once inside she walked quickly along the carpeted hallway, glancing in through the open doorways to see which room Piff might have ended up in.

It wasn’t until she heard a voice say, “Oh, what’s this?!” that she felt confident she had the right one. She sped up and slipped into the classroom, weaving between the desks just in time to catch Piff as she fell out of the air for a second time.

Layla breathed a sigh of relief as Piff scrunched up her nose and peered up at her. “Layla?” she said sleepily. “What are you doing?”

“Stopping you from doing yourself an injury,” Layla said fondly. “You were sleep flying again.”

“Oh.” Piff blinked up at her innocently. “Ooops.”

“Yeah, oops.” Layla deposited Piff on her shoulder where the pixie immediately wound one of her curls around her hand having fallen asleep and taken a tumble off Layla’s shoulder too many times before.

“Does someone want to explain the meaning of all of this?” a voice behind her demanded and Layla whirled around.

A dark haired professor with unusually sharp features for a fairy was frowning at her, arms folded. Layla straightened and glanced around the classroom, noting uncomfortably that the entire class was staring at her curiously. Among them were the five girls that had been there when she’d woken up; two potion cauldrons were on the table in front of them, one simmering with a pale blue liquid in it, the other holding a murky brown potion that was bubbling dangerously, not that they were paying attention to either.

The teacher cleared her throat impatiently and Layla looked back at her. “I’m sorry, Professor. I’m Princess Layla Asherah of Andros, I’ve been staying in the infirmary.”

Recognition crossed the teacher’s face as she nodded. “Of course.”

“And I’m Piff of Herrolan Wood,” Piff said, already sounding on the verge of falling asleep again. “I’m sorry for the interruption, I have an unfortunate habit of,” Piff paused to yawn, “Of sleep-flying.”

The teacher looked disapproving but didn’t say anything as at that moment the redhead from the group, Bloom, jumped to her feet. “Professor Isokalis?” she said quickly. “I could show Layla back to the infirmary.”

“Yes, thank you, Miss Peters. Take your books, class will be finished before you can return.”

Bloom gathered her books and stepped smoothly away from the table just in time for one of the cauldrons to explode, coating the girl’s with blonde and pink hair - Stella and Tecna, Layla thought - with the lumpy brown contents. The two immediately turned on each other and began squabbling about who was to blame while Bloom quickly ushered Layla out the door, shutting the door behind them just as they heard the teacher begin to yell.

“Me, Stella, and Tecna are the worst at potions,” Bloom explained to Layla as she led her along the hallway. “Between the three of us we manage to make something explode at least once a lesson but Isokalis won’t let us swap partners. I think she just likes yelling at us.”

Layla immediately thought that Isokalis sounded like her father and was so troubled by the thought that a minute passed without her saying anything. Bloom didn’t seem to mind though and launched into a story from the year before where between the three of them they had almost managed to blow up the entire school and it was only due to the quick thinking of some of their classmates that they had managed to limit the damage to the potions lab.

Layla listened to her talk, shooting her covert glances at her out of the corner of her eye as she did. It was impossible not to recognise her as the lost Princess of Sparx, her face and name had been splashed everywhere all summer after all, and her quick disappearance back to Earth had made her all the more mysterious. Bloom didn’t seem at all like the princesses Layla knew, what with her jeans and hoodie, and casual smile, but then Layla supposed that made sense considering her upbringing. Which made her wonder what it was like to be a normal girl one day and responsible for an entire planet the next. Questions bubbled up inside of Layla but she bit them back, simply smiling and thanking Bloom when they arrived back at the infirmary.

“When are you meeting with your parents?” Bloom asked her quietly as they slipped back inside, ignoring the disapproving looks of the guards.

“Soon I expect.”

“Good luck. But whatever happens we’ll be here to help you, it’ll all work out.”

Layla jerked a little, glancing at her quickly, and away again. It was odd to her that these girls who were more or less complete strangers would be so committed to helping her. Before she had to come up with a response the door opened again and Ofelia bustled through.

“Oh, Princess,” she said, when she noticed Bloom and Layla standing there. “I’d wondered where you’d gotten to. I’ve brought some clothes for you to get changed into, your parents are waiting for you in Headmistress Faragonda’s office.

Ofelia pressed a bundle of cloth into Layla’s hands and gestured to the bathroom attached to the infirmary. Layla glanced at Bloom who was backing towards the door.

“Good luck,” the redhead said again, before slipping away.

Their plan was pretty simple, Bloom thought, but at the same time more structured than their plans usually were; this one at least had steps. And step one involved Layla convincing her parents to let her enrol at Alfea.

The princess had warned them that she was homeschooled in her castle for a reason, and that her parents were ridiculously overprotective, so the odds of them willingly letting their daughter out of their sight for the entire school year were slim. Which was why the other girls found themselves pacing worriedly outside of Faragonda’s office during the morning break, for inside they knew Layla was doing her level best to convince them.

The doors abruptly opened and they all skittered back a few steps, pressing themselves back against the wall as the King and Queen of Andros stepped from Faragonda’s office. King Teredor, a tall man with a serious face, didn’t look back as he swept past but Queen Niobe paused and touched Layla’s face gently, where she hovered in the doorway.

“We’ll send your things, dear,” she said quietly, before hurrying after her husband, smiling absently at the girls as she went past.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Bloom asked once the King and Queen were out of earshot.

“What happened?” Musa added, looking intently at Layla’s expression.

Layla’s face looked drawn but she managed a smile. “Guess who’s coming to Alfea this year.”

Flora let out an excited yelp and threw her arms around Layla, hugging her close. The others chuckled quietly at Layla’s wide-eyed look as she gingerly put her arms around Flora as well.

“Sorry,” Flora said sheepishly as she drew back. “I’m just happy for you.”

“It was that easy?” Musa asked, still examining Layla’s face closely. “You made it sound like you would have to sell your soul to get them to agree.”

Bloom glanced between them but Layla steadfastly avoided her gaze. “Layla? What did you have to agree to do.”

Layla managed a small, sad smile. “Nothing that matters right now.”

Bloom bit her lip; she wanted to pry and ask what that meant but she didn’t know Layla well yet and didn’t know how she would react to such a question. A voice clearing their throat from behind Layla prevented her from deciding what to do, and they all turned to see Faragonda watching them from inside her office, a knowing look on her face. “I believe we all have some things to talk about.”

The girls filed inside and lined up in front of Faragonda’s chair, waiting for their headmistress to get settled.

“I’m sure you’ve heard by now that we are very lucky to be welcoming Miss Asherah to the school. Seeing as you all know each other I believe it would be most prudent to move her into your dorm; Miss Haleigha you are currently the only occupant of your room, correct? And I have been led to believe that it is of a more than adequate size to be converted into a double? As long as there are no objections, I can have someone over during the day’s lessons to have it set up for Miss Asherah to move in.”

There was an uncomfortable beat of silence where Stella, who’s mouth had fallen open, just stared at Faragonda. Then Bloom nudged her sharply in the ribs, and Stella’s mouth snapped closed with a click as she nodded and said, voice tight, “Of course, headmistress. No objections.”

Faragonda’s lips twitched. “Excellent. I’ll have you room ready by the end of class this afternoon. I’m sure you girls will be happy to show Miss Asherah around.” Faragonda made a motion towards the door, clearly indicating that they do that right now, but the girls didn’t move, exchanging glances.

“There was something else, Miss Faragonda-” Bloom began but Layla broke in.

“We need permission to go to the Under Realms.”

The others winced while Faragonda leant back in her chair and regarded Layla curiously. “While missions  _ are _ a part of Alfea’s curriculum, I must say you are very eager considering it’s only your first day, Miss Asherah. Might I ask what interests you about the Under Realms?”

“I thought it would be a good bonding exercise and practice for our skills,” Layla said evasively.

“Please Headmistress,” Flora broke in. “Some of Layla’s friends are trapped in Shadowhaunt and we want to go rescue them.”

Faragonda stiffened, sitting upright, the small smile gone from her face, the sparkle in her eyes having gone out. “No,” she said immediately, voice firm. “I cannot allow that. Shadowhaunt is much too dangerous. Only the best of our third years are allowed missions to the Under Realms but they are strictly forbidden from entering Shadowhaunt. It is a terrible place.”

Stella waved a hand airily. “Hey, we’re the girls who went to Sparx, remember? And that was a piece of cake.”

Bloom resisted the urge to remind of the snow crabs that had almost devoured them while they’d been on Sparx.

“The Under Realms are very different,” Faragonda said evenly, never taking her eyes off Layla. “And Shadowhaunt is the worst of the worst.”

“So?” Stella said, still sounding cavalier. “It’ll be a challenge for us then. We can totally do it, you just have to give us a chance.”

Faragonda shook her head apologetically, finally looking at Stella. “I’m sorry, girls. I love to see such confidence in you, but confidence will not help you here. No matter how sure of yourself you are, you cannot stop the effects the Under Realms have on you.”

“But what about my friends?!” Layla burst out. “I can’t leave them behind again!”

There was an uncomfortable pause and the other girls shifted. They’d all decided not to mention to Faragonda that Layla had already gone to Shadowhaunt once, fearing that their headmistress would feel obligated to tell Layla’s parents about it; instead their plan was to leave it ambiguous about how exactly they knew the pixies had been captured. The silence hung in the air and there was a knowing, triumphant gleam in Faragonda’s eyes as she surveyed her new student, but then the moment passed and Faragonda continued without addressing it.

“Try to understand,” she said kindly. “The Under Realms are so dangerous that any student of mine who wants to go has to first pass a survival test. A test so hard that most fail, and Shadowhaunt is even worse.”

The girls looked at each other. “We have to at least try,” Bloom said, and the others nodded in agreement.

Faragonda sighed. “I admire your courage, girls, but we’ll find another way to get Layla’s friends back. I’ll contact the Guardian Network, they might be able to assign a team.” But even Faragonda sounded doubtful.

“You have to let us try!”

“Come on, Miss F.”

“Yeah, if we fail the test we’ll back off.”

Faragonda looked at her students, seemingly torn between frustration and fondness at their stubbornness. “It’s such a difficult test that more than three quarters of those who take it fail.”

“A twenty-five per cent chance of success is better than no chance at all,” Tecna pointed out.

“You would attempt the test in the magical reality chamber,” Faragonda said, clearly still trying to dissuade them. “And as it would mimic the effects of the Under Realms you could get hurt.”

“My dad always says ‘it’s cool to try and fail, but not trying is not cool’,” Musa said.

Faragonda looked at her students over her steepled fingers for a long minute, before letting her breath out slowly. “Okay,” she said finally. “Meet me at the magical reality chamber after sixth period and we’ll see. Now, you should all get back to class.”

As if summoned by her words, the bell to signal the end of morning break sounded. They thanked Faragonda and hurried from the room before she could change her mind.

The girls grilled Layla as much as possible over the course of the day to try and prepare for the magical reality test but unfortunately as they quickly found out, it wasn’t something they could exactly study for.

“There’s this weird feeling when you’re in the Under Realms,” Layla explained as they mounted the stairs towards the chamber. “It’s like there’s a damper on your magic and it’s weighing you down. You get so tired so quickly.”

“Great,” Musa muttered. “Can’t wait for that.”

The control room looked surprisingly empty without Palladium who was usually sitting behind the controls. In his place was Faragonda, putting the final touches on the chamber’s settings. She glanced over at them, looking concerned.

“Are you girls ready?”

When they confirmed that they were, she gestured for them to enter the chamber proper. They filed out into the chamber, Layla especially looking around, curious but unafraid.

_ “Just try your best,”  _ Faragonda said, her voice coming through the speakers.

The chamber began to hum around them as it powered up, the lights growing brighter and brighter until they eclipsed the bronze walls. The catwalk they stood on withdrew, leaving them hanging suspended momentarily until the environment of the Under Realms assembled around them. Dirt appeared under their feet, so hard packed that it felt like rock, which led into actual rock walls and a low hanging rock ceiling, complete with occasional stalactites.

“Woah,” Layla breathed, reaching a hand out to touch the cold rock wall, which felt completely real.

The others however were already feeling the effects that Layla had described to them, and Bloom shifted her shoulders as though trying to throw the invisible weight off.

“So, this is the Under Realms?” Stella said looking around. She wrinkled her nose. “Pretty drab and dreary.”

Tecna rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retaliate when they heard a shifting come from further down the cave. They all glanced in the direction it had come from and then at each other.

“Come on girls,” Bloom said. “Let’s do this.”

Musa and Flora immediately transformed, the latter raising her hands.

“I’ll make a vine barrier.” 

But when green magic began to form at her hands, nothing happened and eventually the magic faded away again. Flora frowned and tried again, a quiet grunt of exertion leaving her. This time the green tips of vines appeared from the ground but they quickly turned brown and withered away. 

“I don’t understand,” she cried, looking at the others. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Don’t worry about it, Flo,” Musa said, red sound waves already emanating from her. “I’ll take care of them.” 

She directed the sound waves further down the cave where the sound of the monsters were getting closer. But something went wrong and the tight quarters of the cave amplified Musa’s magic, the increased sound waves causing the walls to shake and crumble.

“What’s going on?!” Musa yelled over the sound of the shaking walls.

“The cave walls magnified your power,” Tecna cried back, shielding her head from the falling rock. “It’s out of control.”

They all scattered, trying to avoid the large chunks of rock now falling from the ceiling, the situation only growing more chaotic when the three monsters finally reached them, roaring threateningly.

“Bloom! Layla! Let’s go!” Together, Stella, Bloom, and Layla all transformed, and the girls got their first look at Layla’s fairy form.

She wore a one shoulder top in a pretty seafoam green, cut cropped to expose her midriff. A sash ran from the top, across her stomach to connect to the green skirt she wore, paired with the same sort of heavy boots that all the other girls wore as well. The wings on her back were small, transparent, and shimmering like the other girls.

All three flew into the air immediately and took on a monster each. Bloom reached deep into the well of her magic and smothered one monster with a wall of flames, Stella blinded her monster with a wave of bright light before blasting with an energy ball, and Layla waved her arm conjuring a wave of water to crash down on the final monster. The water washed over it, extinguishing Bloom’s flames and when it drained away, all three monsters had disappeared.

There was an electronic whir and the cave around them fractured and dissolved as they were returned to the bronze magical reality chamber. The sound of Faragonda clapping came over the speaker and she entered the chamber, moving over to check on them quickly.

“Well done all of you,” she said, eyes raking over them. Musa was on her knees, head ducked, Flora was slowly getting up from where she’d fallen, and a bright red blush was colouring Tecna’s cheeks. “Especially Bloom, Stella, and Layla, you three passed.

“Damn,” Stella said, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “You weren’t kidding, Miss F, that was a hard test.”

“Yes, it is, which is why I don’t want you to be discouraged if you didn’t do well. You’re still young fairies.”

“I couldn’t even transform,” Tecna said mournfully, refusing to meet anyone’s eye. “I felt quite inept.” Bloom slipped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly, even though she had to stand on tiptoe to do so.

There was a sniff, and everyone stared at Musa’s back where she was still facing away from them. Faragonda crossed the catwalk and knelt beside her, mindless of her pencil skirt.

“It’s okay, Musa,” she said, laying her hand on her shoulder. “Everyone’s magic is different and I assure you, we’ll need your powers on other missions. This is an important part of growing as a fairy,” she continued, looking around at them all. “And something you’ll learn more about this year. You need to be able to identify and acknowledge both your strengths and weaknesses if you want to grow.”

Musa didn’t answer, but wiped away her tears and nodded. Faragonda stood and offered her student a hand to her feet.

“Get some rest now, girls,” Faragonda said. “The test may have been short, but it took a lot out of you. And you’ll need all the energy you can get when you leave tomorrow.”

* * *

Layla crept from the dorm early the next morning, casting a worried look at the slumbering Stella as she went. The blonde didn’t seem the type who appreciated being woken before her alarm went off, and after last night when she’d barely said a dozen words to Layla, she was determined not to get on her new room-mate's bad side. She was sure Stella didn’t like her, but whether that had to do with losing her single room or something else, Layla wasn’t sure.

She slipped out of the room and into the common area where Bloom and Musa were both yawning as they watched the television with the volume turned down low. Layla left them to it and exited the dorm already dressed in the protective cargo shorts and shirt Faragonda had sent over for the three of them going to the Under Realms. Layla didn’t really have a plan from there but found herself wandering to Faragonda’s office and knocking on the door, half surprised when a voice called for her to enter.

“Miss Asherah,” Faragonda said with a surprised smile. She gestured for Layla to take a seat. “What can I do for you?”

Layla had no idea what was going to come out of her mouth until she abruptly blurted, “Why didn’t you tell my parents that I’d gone to Shadowhaunt.”

Faragonda tilted her head consideringly. “I suppose for the same reason I’m letting you, Miss Haleigha and Miss Peters go back now. I believe a growing fairy should get the chance to prove themselves. Why didn’t  _ you  _ tell them about Shadowhaunt?”

“I guess I didn’t think they’d understand why I had to go back,” Layla said slowly. “You’re right about the Under Realms. You can’t control what it does to you; by the time I’d left Shadowhaunt I barely had any power left.”

“Shadowhaunt is so over-run with negative energy that there is no balance, it’s why it affects fairies especially so much.”

“Do you know who this guy might be?”

Faragonda paused almost imperceptibly. “I’m afraid I can only speculate at this point. Perhaps when you save the pixies they might be able to tell us what he wanted from them, that might help narrow it down.”

Layla was glad that Faragonda had said ‘when’ and not ‘if’.

Faragonda glanced at her watch and stood, Layla following. “We should be getting down to the quad, my dear. Your backup will be arriving soon.”

“Our backup?”

Faragonda only smiled mysteriously and led Layla from the room. Down on the quad the others were waiting for them, Bloom and Stella dressed in the same khaki clothes that Layla was. Both had a backpack that Layla knew was stocked full of anything they might need, dehydrated food packets, a full self-filling water bottle, a thick weatherproof jacket and more. There was a third backpack at Bloom’s feet that she handed to Layla.

“Here, I grabbed this for you.”

“Thanks,” she said, and swung it onto her back.

“Take these,” Fragonda said, pressing a small packet into her hand. “They’re emergency magical light seeds.”

“What do they do?” Layla examined the nondescript white packaging.

“The monsters you’ll encounter likely won’t have seen light for a long time. When you activate these seeds with a burst of magic they give off a very bright light that will drive the monsters away. But it will only work once so be careful.”

Tecna was watching them with a worried expression. “I wish we could go with you,” she said, and at her side Musa looked equally worried as she frowned at the ground and scuffed the toe of her sneaker into the gravel.

“Only fairies who pass the test can go,” Faragonda said firmly. “And besides I’ve already arranged some backup for them.”

As if on cue a shadow fell over them. They all craned their necks to see a Red Fountain craft begin to land on the quad. Bloom and Stella grinned at each other starting to get excited, but Layla scowled. Going with two girls she barely knew was going to be enough of an adjustment let alone adding to their party.

She wasn’t the only one with reservations however. “The boys are going?” Tecna squawked in outrage. “That’s not fair!”

Stella kicked Tecna’s shin to shut her friend up, already waving excitedly as her boyfriend exited the craft, followed by Sky, Riven, and Timmy.

“Oh come on,” Musa groaned. “They don’t even have powers.”

“Which means they don’t have powers to lose,” Faragonda said patiently. “I asked Saladin who would be best to send with you girls and he suggested Misters Traherne and Phillips. They scored the highest marks in their course on surviving unexplored terrains.”

The boys arrived and nodded to Faragonda respectfully. Brandon slipped an arm around Stella’s waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Hi honey,” Stella sighed to him.

“Hey sunshine,” he replied while Musa pretended to gag behind their backs.

Tecna sniffed. “According to my calculations, their presence barely improves the chance of success. You’d be much better off with us along.”

“Ouch, Tec,” Sky said, while Brandon pretended to clutch his heart.

“I’m sorry but it’s true,” she said with a shrug.

“I agree,” Layla said unexpectedly. “If we can’t have Tecna, Musa, and Flora, I’d prefer it be just us girls.”

“Hey now, new girl,” Brandon said holding up his hands. “You haven’t even seen us in action yet.”

Layla narrowed her eyes, but all she said in response was, “It’s Layla, not ‘new girl’.”

Sky glanced at her. “Princess Layla, Andros, right?”

Layla’s dark eyes shifted to him and her mouth curled up, but it wasn’t exactly a friendly smile. “Brandon- oh sorry, I mean Prince Sky, Eraklyon, right?”

Sky stiffened and Bloom glanced between them.

“Enough,” Faragonda said, her voice brooking no arguments. “Brandon and Sky are highly trained and prepared for any emergency situation, magical or not. This is the team going on the mission, and you can accept that and go, or you can stay here and go to class like normal. The choice is yours.”

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence as the five going on the mission eyed each other, all waiting for someone to pull out. But no one did and Faragonda finally nodded in approval. “Good,” she said. “Now you should get going. Timmy and Riven will accompany you so they can bring the squad ship back, and they’ll also collect you when you’ve secured the pixies.”

Musa, Flora, and Tecna still didn’t look happy about it but they wrapped the other girls in tight hugs, making them promise to be careful while they were gone. Finally they boarded the squad ship, Bloom and Stella looking around in amazement as they were led on and given a quick tour of the new ship.

“Wow, guys, it’s huge.”

“For sure,” Timmy said, grinning like a kid with a new toy. “It’s got a containment area if we need to transport any nasties, a hangar bay where we can fit a couple smaller crafts or our leva-bikes, kitchenette, bathroom, sleeping quarters, you name it, we’ve probably got it.”

They walked out onto the main flight deck, Sky immediately claiming the pilot’s chair, while Riven took the co-pilot position, the duo working in tandem to get them into the air. The others were left to stare each other down, the tension between Layla and the guys still making things uncomfortable.

Brandon, returning to his usual jovial self, was the first to wave the proverbial white flag. “Look,” he said to Layla. “We got off on the wrong foot, but we’ve got a few hours before we get to the Under Realms and I’d rather not spend the entire time arguing. Besides, a divided team has no chance on a mission, so truce?”

Layla eyes his outstretched hand before taking it and shaking it once. “Truce,” she agreed gruffly.

Brandon’s usual grin appeared. “Sweet, well, I'm Brandon. We’ve got Sky and Riven flying.” The two guys both waved a hand in greeting. “And Timmy.” The redhead gave Layla a wave as well.

“Nice to meet you all.”

“Great. Now everybody strap in because any minute now we’re going to leave Magix airspace and Sky’s really going to put his foot down.”

Bloom claimed the seat on the other side of Sky, and Stella and Brandon took seats as far away from the others as they could manage, leaving Layla to snag a seat by Timmy who was manning the radars.

“Hey,” Bloom said, as she buckled herself in beside Sky, before stifling a yawn.

He looked over at her with a grin. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit tired. I didn’t sleep well.”

Sky’s smile faded a little. “You’re still not sleeping well?”

“No,” Bloom said with a patient smile. “I wasn’t sleeping well during the summer but I got over it. And then I didn’t sleep well last night because it’s our first mission today and I was strategising.”

“Strategising, huh?” Sky said, knocking his knee gently against hers.

Bloom’s lips curled up into a smile. “All the strategising.”

Riven abruptly kicked the back of Sky’s chair, and they both looked over.

“Eyes on the sky, Ace,” Riven said, a sardonic, teasing note in is voie. “If you wanted to talk to Bloom the entire time you shouldn’t have called shotgun on flying.”

Sky waved him away and looked back at Bloom. “Riven’s just annoyed that I get to fly the first mission of the year. If he had his way he’d fly all the time.”

Riven flipped Sky off without looking over, but Bloom caught sight of his profile and could see he was smiling. “You’re just lucky we all need a minimum number of flight hours to pass third year or you’d never get me out of that chair.”

“So, who’s the bad guy this time,” Brandon asked from the back of the flight deck.

Bloom spun her chair around and glanced at Layla, who shrugged.

“Not sure yet,” Stella said. “We just know he likes to hang around Shadowhaunt, captured Layla’s friends, and has a grudge against pixies, for whatever reason.”

“And is wicked strong,” Layla said in an undertone, remembering with a frown the feeling of his power wrapping around her.

Brandon didn’t seem too concerned, if his lazy shrug was anything to go by. “It’ll be a piece of cake. And we’re loaded up with all sorts of cool stuff, you should check out our new PHA.”

Bloom raised her eyebrows. “PHA?”

“Personal Hero’s Assistant. It’s the newest bit of hero tech out of Zenith,” Timmy said excitedly, looking away from the radars. “It’s designed to be really functional while still being as small as possible. It has GPS tracking, a grappling hook function, and even has a new feature that allows us to pass through solid objects. Codatorta gave us a couple to test out.”

“Sounds cool,” Layla said vaguely. “Hey Brandon are you able to pull up a map of the Under Realms on one of these computers.”

Brandon clipped his PHA back onto his belt and gestured them over to one of the monitors. “Only parts of the Under Realms have been mapped so it’s going to be hard to find our way around.”

“It’s just a whole load of tunnels,” Stella said, staring at the map, her face aghast.

“It;s not just tunnels,” Layla said, her tone indicating that Stella should have known this already. “It’s divided into kingdoms like lots of other realms, you can see the borders here and here,” she continued pointing to lines on the map. “The surface is unlivable so everyone who didn’t abandon the planet went underground, that’s why it’s called the Under Realms. There are lots of tunnels and caves but there are also big caverns, and underground rivers as well. I’m hoping to remember enough to guide us around.”

Stella rolled her eyes. “Sounds like a great plan,” she snarked back, ignoring Bloom when she nudged her in the ribs.

“So, which part is Shadowhaunt?” Bloom asked to change the subject.

“Well, this is Downland,” Brandon said, pointing to a cluster of tunnels that looked to open out into a massive cavern.

“Then this one is Shadowhaunt,” Layla said, pointing to another large cavern nearby. “Downland is the closest.”

“Sending you the coordinates, Sky.”

“Aim for them, but I’ll direct you when we get closer. The entrance I took last time was overrun with monsters.”

“You got it,” Sky said. He pushed the accelerator a little more and the ship shot forward.

The others drifted away to get in as much chill time before they arrived in the Under Realms, but Layla stayed close to the map, trying to commit it to memory. Occasionally she glanced covertly across the flight deck, watching her companions and trying to pick up on the group’s dynamic.

Brandon and Stella were clearly a couple, a blind man could see that; Stella was perched on the arm of Brandon’s chair, his arm around her waist while they talked quietly. Riven lounged in the co-pilot’s chair, cracking sarcastic quips and making Timmy laugh, and looking for all intent and purposes like a slacker, but Layla noticed how his sharp eyes never strayed far from his duties. Bloom and Sky were the hardest for Layla to work out; they seemed to sit a little apart from the others, lost in their own world, but throughout it Layla didn’t think she saw them touch each other at all. She watched them on and off during the few hours it took them to reach the Under Realms but throughout it all they were like two magnets, hovering close to each other but never coming into contact.

As they got closer Sky gestured for Layla to come closer and direct him towards the entrance. They skated over the plain, rocky surface of the planet, bypassing the entrance she’d taken last time with Lockette, and instead she directed him towards a crevice, where according to the map, there was a smaller entrance. Sky skillfully negotiated the tight crevice, lowering the ship through the darkness until they hovered several feet over the highest rocky landing.

“I can’t go any closer or we’ll risk losing power to the ship. Saladin warned us that the Under Realms might have a negative affect on it.”

Layla peered through the front window, calculating the drop down to the ledge. “It’s not so far. I’m sure we can handle it.”

Stella came over to look as well, making a face like she wasn’t so convinced; but in completely untypical Stella fashion, didn’t put up a fight.

Sky handed the piloting duties over to Riven and they all gathered their supplies, preparing to leave.

“You guys be careful out there,” Riven said, not looking away from the front windshield despite his worried words. “The second you’re done you get in contact and we’ll be back to pick you up.”

Brandon slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll be sweet.”

“Who said I was worried?” Riven said brusquely but Bloom thought she saw his shoulders relax a little.

Timmy had rigged up a rope from them to descend from, Stella and Bloom grimacing at the sight of it. Lysippe made them do rope climbs occasionally but it was hardly their favourite activity, especially Stella who resisted anything that might damage her usually flawless nails. Bloom was at least slightly reassured to see the rope had been knotted at equidistant intervals to give them something to cling to.

Sky went first, climbing down it in a flash like he’d barely had to think about it; and knowing Red Fountain he probably hadn’t had to think about it because he did that sort of thing every day. Layla went next, climbing down almost as quickly and brushing aside the hand Sky held out to steady her. Then it was Bloom’s turn and she gritted her teeth as she took Brandon’s proffered hand as she swung her legs over the side of the ship’s opening and lowered herself towards the rope. She certainly wasn’t breaking any speed records on her way down but she climbed down at a steady pace, making sure of her grip everytime she slid her feet lower. When she was low enough, Sky reached up and held her waist to support her as she jumped off.

“Thanks,” she said, voice a little breathless as she tried to ignore the warm feeling of his fingers on her bare waist where her shirt had rucked up.

The second her feet hit the rock, that same feeling Bloom had felt during the test in the magical reality chamber slammed back into her, feeling even more intense somehow. She felt like there was an invisible weight dragging her down, and the magic she could usually feel inside her waiting to burst free felt further away than normal. She shook her shoulders around a little, trying to settle into the feeling, before looking up to track Stella’s progress.

If Bloom had thought she had been slow climbing down the rope, Stella was practically glacial. The blonde gritted her teeth the entire way down and her knuckles were white from how tightly she was gripping the rope. Brandon followed her down, calling gentle encouragement the entire time until finally Stella was close enough for Sky to help her gracelessly relinquish the rope and stumble back onto solid rock. Brandon leapt down next to her and immediately took her hands in his, rubbing the feeling back into them.

“I much prefer my wings,” Stella sniffed, looking haughtily up at the rope.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Bloom thought she saw Layla turn away to hide her smile. Timmy waved from inside the ship and called out a goodbye before the door lowered, blocking him from view.

“Come on,” Layla said, as soon as the ship started to fly away. An edge of impatience had crept into her voice and she was looking into the entrance of the cave. “Let’s get going.”

Sky and Brandon immediately followed into the tunnel, the former withdrawing a torch to illuminate the way. Bloom shifted the straps of her backpack, settling it into a more comfortable position before following them. Stella cast one final, longing look at the sliver of sky she could still see before she too followed them into the dark.

“We’re coming at Shadowhaunt from a slightly different angle,” Layla was telling the guys as they walked. “But I looked at the maps on the ship and I’m pretty sure of the way.”

“Pretty sure or definitely sure?” Stella snarked under her breath, glowering at the rocky walls of the cave as they trudged along.

Layla frowned but didn’t rise to the bait, and Bloom dropped back a little to walk with Stella.

“What’s up with you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Bloom didn’t believe her innocent act for a second. “Come on, you’re kind of acting bitchy to Layla for no reason.”

Stella frowned and opened her mouth to retort before glancing over her shoulder. Even walking for a few minutes they’d already followed a few twists and turns and lost sight of the entrance. “Did you hear that?”

“No,” Bloom said. “I didn’t hear anything, I think you’re avoiding the question. If you didn’t want to come you shouldn’t have done the test.”

“Of course I wanted to come,” Stella muttered, shooting wary looks at Brandon, Sky, and Layla’s backs.

“Then what? Is this about having to share your room with Layla?”

Stella rolled her eyes. “Wow Bloom,” she said sarcastically. “Didn’t realise you thought I was so shallow.”

“I don’t think you’re shallow,” Bloom sniped back, feeling her temper rise. “But I do know you like your own space.”

“This isn’t about a stupid dorm room. Maybe after the summer I’ve had, the last person I want around is a girl who is supposed to be a ‘catalyst for great change’- Okay tell me you heard that!”

“Stella, there’s nothing there.”

Stella ignored her and in a flash of bright light had transformed into her fairy form, her orange tank and shorts managing to sparkle even in the dim environment.

The flash drew the attention of the others and they turned around in surprise.

“You girls alright back there?” Brandon asked.

“Yep,” Stella said breezily, walking ahead of Bloom. She plucked her Solarian ring from her finger and threw it up into the air, catching the sceptre it transformed into and swinging it back and forth casually. “There’s supposed to be monsters all over the place, right Layla? Can’t hurt to be ready.”

Layla watched as Stella strutted past her, eyes guarded. “Right,” she said.

Stella didn’t get very far however before the monster she’d been hearing growl made its appearance.

“Oh crap,” Bloom said as she wheeled around and found herself practically face to face with the thing.

Stella zoomed through the air and slid neatly in front of her, sceptre held out. “Go,” she said firmly, not wincing in the face of the monster. “I’ll deal with this.”

In the midst of battle Bloom knew the importance of taking orders so she didn’t argue and took off running after the others. Behind her the tunnel lit up with one of Stella’s spells. She didn’t make it very far however because up ahead, Brandon, Sky, and Layla had been stopped short at a heavy set of metal double doors.

“Bloom,” Sky called. “Think you can blow it open?”

“Leave it to me.” Bloom didn’t even bother to transform, so confident she was in her ability. She just sized up her target, holding her hands level with the intricate lock that was emblazoned with some kind of creature, and let the well of magic inside of her explode outwards, flames roaring towards the lock. But a strange thing happened. When it should have come into contact with the metal and blown it open, the magic instead passed straight through it, disappearing with a faint whoosh.

There was a beat of silence.

“Did it just-”

“Absorb your magic?” Layla said grimly. “Yeah. This place has a tendency of doing that.”

“That’s where we come in,” Brandon said, springing into action. “Sometimes brute force has its uses.”

He unclipped his PHA from his belt and wasted no time attaching it to the door. He hovered in front of it, punching in numbers on the keypad and muttering under his breath.

“What’s happening?” Bloom asked Sky.

The blonde hero was watching his friend. “He has to get the size of the blast right or we’ll be dealing with a collapsing tunnel as well as monsters.”

“Well, he’d better hurry up,” Bloom muttered, staring in the opposite direction. A bright light was flying rapidly towards them and she was willing to bet Stella was only moving that fast because monsters were on her tail. She glanced sideways at Layla, who met her gaze with determination.

“Let’s do this.”

They transformed just in time for Stella to reach them, looking tired. She dove behind them for a momentary reprieve while Bloom and Layla attacked the half dozen monsters who had arrived along with her. Bloom immediately flung a wave of flames at two, burning them to ashes before they even had a chance to spit their bile. Layla meanwhile dodged the flying spikes of another before forcing a tendril of water down its throat, drowning it.

Bloom was already feeling the effects of the under realms on her, and realised using such a powerful first attack might not have been the best idea. Layla was looking similarly tired, and they were only saved from the three remaining monsters by Stella who conjured enough strength to raise her sceptre and unleash a wave of sunlight, incinerating them.

“Alright, I think I got it,” Brandon called. “Take cover.”

Sky pulled Bloom behind a large stalagmite, while the other three hig behind a rocky outcrop on the other side of the tunnel. For a second Bloom wondered if it hadn’t worked but then she heard the explosion and felt the heat fill the tunnel. She was expecting more damage but Brandon had calculated it perfectly and most of the doors remained intact, with only the lock blown to pieces. Sky kicked the doors open, while Brandon scooped up his PHA and led the girls through.

“We need to get this sealed fast,” Sky said, as he and Brandon pushed the doors shut once more. “More monsters could be coming.”

“I could try and melt the metal and fuse it together,” Bloom said dubiously. She wasn’t sure she could conjure flames hot enough to do that even without the effect the under realms environment was having on her.

“I got this,” Layla said, shaking out her shoulders a little. She crouched down and brought her water magic to her palms, letting it pour onto the ground and pool there. She mixed it with the dirt on the rocky ground, combining the two it became a thick muddy mixture which she applied to the join in the doors, before freezing it solid.

“Woah,” Brandon breathed, touching a hand to the muddy ice that was now coating the doors.

“I didn’t know you could freeze water as well,” Bloom said.

“Yeah, it’s all about messing with the temperature of the water molecules. Only thing is I can’t do anything with it once it’s frozen except melt it again.” Layla made more of the mixture and applied it to the tops and the bottoms of the doors, her movements slowing. “I should do a second coat,” she mumbled, voice faint, and when she went to stand upright she stumbled a little.

“Woah,” Sky said, catching a hold of her elbow and making sure she was steady. “Are you alright?”

Layla shook her head a little, but didn’t answer. She brought a hand up to her temple and barely seemed to notice as her wings and fairy outfit disappeared with a flash and were replaced with her khakis and boots. Sky stepped around to her backpack and pulled her drink bottle free, handing it to her.

“Here, have some water. You probably just over-exerted yourself a little.”

Layla took a long drink before nodding in agreement. “Yeah. You can never know how fast this place is going to drain your power. Let’s keep moving.”

“You sure you’re right to go on? We can sit for a bit while you get your strength back?”

“I’m sure,” Layla said briskly, waving away Sky’s concern and jerking her head back at the doors. “That ice won’t last forever, they’ll either crack it or it’ll start to melt, and we don’t want to be here when the next monsters get through.”

With Layla leading the way, and Stella beside her, still throwing off sun rays with her sceptre, the group continued along the tunnel.

“Don’t worry about not having your powers, Layla, I’m still good to go,” Stella was saying to Layla.

“Yeah, we all stick up for each other,” Brandon agreed. “And we’ve been going on missions together for a year now so we’re like a well oiled machine.”

Layla glanced at them. “I’m not worried,” was all she said in response.

“You haven’t even seen Bloom when she goes all crazy, mega-power attack mode….”

Bloom lost track of the conversation after that. Being at the back of the pack meant being the furthest away from the light source and she was starting to have trouble seeing, causing her to trip over the uneven group and the odd stalagmite. And to make matters worse, a steady pounding had started up in her head and soon she was having trouble walking and had to lift a hand to the wall of the tunnel to keep herself balanced.

“Bloom?”

The voice surprised her and she stumbled. Only this time she didn’t have the energy to correct herself and she ended up falling straight to her knees, the rocky ground cutting into her unforgivingly.

“Bloom!”

“Bloom?”

“Bloom, Bloom.”

The voices washed over her, making her head swim, and Bloom fell heavily onto her side, bringing both hands up to her pounding temples. Hands touched her shoulders and arms, trying to pull them away from her face and get her to sit up.

Then a gentler set of hands touched her face, brushing her hair back and bringing a water bottle to her lips. She drank from it greedily, before resting her head back against the ground, eyes tight shut while she waited for the pain to recede. The other hands retreated but those gentle hands stayed, brushing tender fingers soothingly over her temples.

She didn’t know how much time passed but finally she started to feel better.

“What happened?” she rasped, and the quiet murmuring voices broke off. She opened her eyes slowly and was relieved to find the tunnel had grown dark around her, Stella’s sun rays having vanished.

“You fell,” Sky said quietly. He was sitting by her head, while the others hovered behind them, their faces clearly worried even in the darkness. “It’s hotter down here than I was expecting, I think between the dehydration-”

“And this place draining your power,” Layla added.

“Yeah, you just got weak.”

“Stella’s not feeling too hot either,” Brandon said, and Bloom could see that Stella had de-transformed back into her khakis.

Sky helped Bloom stand up and encouraged her to drink more from her water bottle.

“How are you feeling?” Layla asked, sounding anxious, though Bloom wasn’t sure if she was worried for her wellbeing or for the pixies.

Bloom took a quick stock of her body. “Okay, I think,” she said truthfully. She certainly didn’t feel up to running a marathon or anything but as long as she didn’t try to use her powers too soon she thought she’d be okay. “Let’s keep going.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. The sooner we find the pixies the sooner we can get out of here.”

They continued on, Sky sticking close by Bloom’s side in case she started to feel weak again. Layla led the group but she was frowning and shaking her head at their surroundings.

“What is it?” Bloom called up to her.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “I thought I would be able to remember my way around but all these tunnels look almost exactly alike. I thought those doors meant we were getting close but now I’m not so sure.”

The others exchanged looks. They could hear the impatience creeping into her voice, and the exhaustion coupled with worry for the pixies was clearly starting to wear on her.

“How about this?” Brandon broke in. “The tunnel branches off over there, I’ll follow it along and see what I can find while you continue with this one. We’ll walk for five minutes and see what we can find and then meet back here.”

“I don’t like the idea of you going off on your own,” Stella said, but Brandon grinned and pressed a fleeting kiss to her cheek.

“It’ll be all good, sunshine. I’ll see you in a few.”

And then before anyone could argue, he’d ducked into the side passage that opened off the main tunnel and disappeared from view. 

Layla watched him go before shrugging. “We might as well keep going.”

Stella bit her lip, looking after the way Brandon had gone before reluctantly following Layla, Sky and Bloom joining them. They didn’t have to walk long before they saw a brightness appear in the distance, lit by crystals that grew in clusters on the cave walls. They hurried towards the end, before coming up short at the narrow ledge the tunnel opened out onto.

“Woah!” Layla said, flinging out an arm to the cave’s edge to catch her balance.

Woah was right, Bloom thought as a wave of vertigo washed over her. Being a fairy and spending so much time in the air had cured her of any phobia of heights she might have had, but this was on a whole other level. The cave had opened out into a tall cavern, the walls of which were dotted with crystals and other ledges like the one they stood on. When Bloom craned her neck she thought she could just see the sky in the distance, but she was more worried about what was below her, the floor of the cavern not even visible through the gloom; if their ledge suddenly crumbled she’d have no idea how far they’d fall before hitting the ground.

Layla cast a disgusted look around the cavern and thumped her fist against the cave wall, surprising the others. “This isn’t right.”

“Hey,” Bloom said gently. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”

Layla didn’t seem comforted by her words and opened her mouth to answer when a shout from below caught their attention. They peered over the edge and a few ledges down and over they saw Brandon lean out from another tunnel with a grin and a wave. They waved back and Layla cupped her hands around her mouth to shout down to him.

“We need to regroup. Can you find your way back up here?”

“I think-” Brandon broke off with a grimace and a moment later he was backing further onto the ledge and pulling a sword hilt from his belt. He clicked the broadsword out, the green metal glinting even in the gloom, and yelled without looking away from the cave entrance, “I’ve got company down here.”

A cry emerged from Stella’s throat and she wheeled around to run back into their cave but Layla beat her to it, transforming in a split second. “It’ll be quicker if I go.”

Stella’s mouth snapped shut and a dangerous look entered her tawny eyes but she didn’t argue. Not that there was much point because Layla was already gone, diving over the edge and flying down to Brandon’s aid.

“She’s crazy if she thinks I’m just going to stand here,” Stella hissed, but it quickly became clear she still didn’t have enough energy to transform. Bloom tried to transform as well but like Stella she was still exhausted from before and the Under Realms were keeping her powers from regenerating.

The sound of Layla’s scream drew them away from their attempts and the girls along with Sky leaned over the edge again trying to see what was happening. Layla was gone from view, fighting in the tunnels, Bloom hoped, but Brandon was still on the edge, wielding his broadsword against a long necked monster. He thrust and parried trying to nick or cut the monster but it was surprisingly agile and adept at dodging his attacks.

Then the unthinkable happened and Brandon missed again, slamming the powerful blade against the rocky ledge. The rocky ledge that clearly wasn’t strong enough to hold up against that kind of attack and instantly began to crumble. Brandon’s eyes went wide with shock, as an agonised scream wrenched from Stella’s throat. The brunette specialist turned for the cave entrance but only managed a step or two towards it before the entire ledge dislodged from the cavern wall completely, taking Brandon and the monster with it as it fell out of sight.

“Brandon!” Stella screamed.

Bloom turned to look at her but it was like she was moving through water, her movements slow and awkward, and entirely too late to stop her friend as Stella cleared the two steps to the edge of the rock and dove off the side to follow Brandon that long way down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe it's freaking September already? I legit can't remember the last time I updated this fic, but it's freaking spring for me now guys. that's crazy. where has the year gone?
> 
> As always I have gotten to this author's note and completely forgotten all of the things I wanted to say. I hope you liked how I clarified how Layla was able to attend Alfea, something that I think was a little vague in the actual show and has always lowkey bugged me. There's a lil bit of tension going on between Layla and the guys, and even more so between Stella and Layla (insert side eye emoji here). I hope you liked the potions class from the start of the chapter, that little tidbit was born out of a funny conversation on the winx club discord server about who would be the worst at potions (tecna, stella, and bloom all tie for the worst, while flora is the best), and props to Drops I think who inspired the, "tecna, stella, and bloom almost accidentally blow up the school" anecdote.
> 
> As always thank you so so so much to everyone who reads, leaves kudos, and takes the time to comment, you're all amazing. Please feel free to leave a comment telling me what you loved, what you didn't love, and what you're looking forward to seeing in the next chapter. Stay safe everyone xxxxx


	4. Queen of Perfection

“No!”

Bloom didn’t remember making the conscious decision to move, but one moment she was standing, watching in horror as Stella leapt from the rock, and the next she was running after her, completely ready to follow her friends over the side. Her boots reached the edge, the rock crumbling a little under her boots, and her muscles tensed, preparing to take the plunge when a strong arm banded around her waist and yanked her backwards.

Her breath left her in a woosh along with a strangled sound of protest. She clawed at the arm around her waist, throwing her entire weight into breaking free, and helping Stella and Brandon. The owner of the arm - Sky, it had to be Sky - grunted, but didn’t let up, slowly starting to drag them both back from the edge.

“What are you doing?” Bloom screamed, thrashing in his arms. “We need to help them!”

“They’re gone,” he said, and his voice sounded oddly choked, but in that moment Bloom didn’t care why. All she cared about was that Sky was stopping her from helping their friends. “They’re gone, Bloom. And I am not letting you go after them.”

Bloom saw red at his words and a slew of obscenities flew from her mouth as she redoubled her escape attempts. She had to be hurting him as she scratched, hit, kicked, and did whatever she could to make him release her, but he never let go, moving them steadily backwards until they were in the tunnels once more. Once they turned the corner and the cavern was out of sight, he pressed her up against the rock wall, gentle and firm all at once.

“They’re gone,” he said again, sounding as if he couldn’t quite believe the words he was speaking. He shifted his weight a little, keeping her pinned with one hand while he smoothed her hair back with the other. The action cleared her vision, and she got a better look at him. She was surprised to see his cheeks were wet, and even more to realise that her own were as well.

“They’re not gone,” she choked out, but already she could hear the conviction fading from her voice. “They’re not,” she whispered. “They can’t be.” The energy drained from her and she slumped forward, her forehead tilting against his so she felt as Sky took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Maybe-” he began but cut off when they heard a sudden scream for help.

For a second Bloom’s heart leapt. Maybe, she thought desperately, maybe that was Stella and Brandon. Maybe they’d survived that insane drop. But as another yell sounded, she realised that the scream hadn’t come from the cavern but from an adjacent tunnel.

Sky’s head lifted, and she could see the visible effort it took him to push away his emotions as resolve overtook his face. “We have to help Layla,” he muttered, before glancing back at her. “Maybe, maybe they’ll be alright. We’ll find a way down to check, okay? But I have to help Layla first.”

He took a tentative step back and Bloom immediately slid down the wall, mindless of the way the rough surface scratched up her back.

“Stay here, okay, Bloom?” Sky said, clearly hesitant to leave her alone. “I’ll be right back.” He reached his hand towards her shoulder, and it hovered there, an inch away from making contact before dropping away. Squaring his shoulders and drawing his sword from his belt, Sky hurried down the tunnel and towards Layla, while Bloom hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face against her arms.

Stella couldn’t be-

Brandon couldn’t be-

Because if they were-

Bloom hadn’t been there when they’d pulled Asterin from the rubble but she’d heard enough of whispers for a horrible image to come to mind; Brandon’s eyes wide and vacant, Stella’s normally tan skin pale and cold, their chests still and lifeless. A ragged sob burst from Bloom’s throat and she sunk her teeth into her arm to bite back the rest that threatened to follow. She had to be strong, she had to believe they were okay, because if she let herself dwell on the possibility that they weren’t, she knew she could very well lose her grip.

There was something stiflingly empty about the dorm without Bloom, Stella, and Layla there. Flora hovered in the doorway to Stella and now Layla’s room, fiddling nervously with her bracelet, twisting it back and forth as she thought about how weird it was to see Stella’s room so tidy. So accustomed to having people to tidy up after her when she was on Solaria, within a few days of returning to Alfea Stella’s room usually looked like it had been hit by a particularly nasty hurricane spell. But this time she’d barely had time to unpack let alone make a mess of things before she and the others had left.

Sighing a little, Flora finally left her bracelet alone and pushed away from the doorframe, stepping back into the common area of the dorm. Her eyes fell on Tecna and Timmy where they sat on the lounge together. It had taken the better part of the school day for Riven and Timmy to drop the others at the Under Realms and then fly back, so they’d come straight to Alfea to debrief them and Faragonda. Musa and Riven had disappeared shortly afterwards while Tecna and Timmy had set up in the dorm, alternating between tracking their signal through the Under Realms on Tecna’s computer, and staring at Timmy’s PHA waiting for it to alert them that the others were ready to be picked up.

Flora wavered for a moment, debating whether to join them on the couch or make herself scarce. They were sitting close together, heads bent towards each other as they talked, shoulders brushing, and it was the most settled Flora has seen Tecna since the departure of their friends.

Making her mind up, Flora turned abruptly and made a beeline for her and Bloom’s room instead. Much like Stella’s room, Bloom’s areas were strangely untouched, and it made Flora shiver and cross the room straight to the balcony, where she pushed open the doors and stepped out into the mild air. The weather seemed to be still clinging to the final traces of summer, something that made Flora smile, if only briefly, as she leant against the railing and watched the sun sink in the distance.

“Saladin should have sent me instead of Brandon,” a voice muttered darkly from behind her. 

She gasped, hand flying to her throat, as she spun around. Riven was balanced on the wide, stone railing, tucked up against the sandstone wall, and partially obscured by the open glass door; clearly he’d been hiding out there.

“We’d already be back by now.”

Riven avoided Flora’s gaze as he spoke, but she could see the open worry splashed across his face, despite his grumblings. The wall he usually kept up between himself and everyone else had momentarily dropped, surprising Flora so much that the usually eloquent fairy couldn’t think of anything to say except, “I thought I was alone out here.”

Something in Riven’s expression hardened, and that wall slammed back into place. “Sorry,” he groused, and moved to leave.

“No, I- I guess I just thought you’d be with Musa.”

“Musa,” he said. speaking slowly as though he liked saying her name. “Why would I be with Musa?”

Flora hesitated. She’d hoped that Musa and Riven would have gotten their act together over the break and admitted that they liked each other, but it seemed they were still doing the dance of avoidance.

“Because I thought you left together,” Flora finally said, before throwing caution to the wind. “And because she seemed upset, and I’m sure she could use someone to talk to.”

Riven glanced over his shoulder like he could see through Timmy and Tecna were sitting together through the layers of stone, but didn’t move.

“I guess _I’ll_ go find her and see how she’s doing,” Flora blufed with a sigh, and made to head back inside.

Riven slid smoothly from the railing and stepped in front of her. “I’ll go,” he said moodily. “But I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell her? That everything’s fine? It’s probably not.” Despite his words, Riven was already stepping into Flora and Bloom’s room, walking away with purpose.

Flora smiled a bit and turned back to the sky; her work was done.

Stella would like to have been able to say later that jumping off the ledge was a thought out decision, that she had a plan, that she felt her energy returning and thought she would be able to grab Brandon and transform. But really all that was going through her head in that moment was ‘ _I don’t know if I can survive losing him’._

She plunged through the air, her eyes screwed tight against the rushing wind, and mouth open in a terrified scream so that she had no chance to brace before she hit the water below. Inhaling on instinct, Stella gagged and forced her eyes open. The river was moving fast, already pulling her downstream but she managed to kick herself upwards, head breaking the surface a second after Brandon’s.

“Stella?!” he yelled, brown hair plastered to his face.

“I couldn’t just let you go on your own,” she called back, the joke covering the relief she felt at seeing he was alright.

Brandon’s lips turned up in a humourless smile, and together, without needing to discuss it, they both tried to swim against the current. In Solaria one of the few places to escape the heat was the water so Stella liked to think she was a pretty strong swimmer, but even she was no match for the strength of this river. A quick look around told her that Brandon wasn’t faring much better and they had much bigger problems to contend with. Because despite how hard they were swimming the rushing rapids were dragging them further down the river, right towards a large rock that emerged over the surface of the river.

“Brandon,” she called out warningly.

He glanced over, and then behind him at the approaching rock, grimacing.

“Try and grab it as we go by.”

Stella nodded and ceased her fruitless swimming. They both just focused on keeping their heads above water as they drew closer. Then, when the rock was in striking distance they separated and each grabbed a side. The rock was rough and jagged and tore at Stella’s palms and nails but she didn’t let up, digging her fingers in to combat the strength of the rapids.

“What do we do now?!” she yelled to Brandon over the sound of the water.

Brandon, clinging to the other side of the rock, looked like he was thinking hard. But unfortunately there weren't a lot of options. The river had already swept them out of the cavern and into a low ceilinged tunnel, the water washing right up against the rock walls. Waves were slamming into the rock they held onto, pulling at them and weakening their grip and they both knew that with their diminished energy they wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

“I don’t suppose you can fly yet?”

Stella shook her head grimly; any strength she might have built back up after battling the monsters had been sapped again by the fall into the river. 

“Maybe we could-”

But Stella never found out what they might have been able to do because just then another wave, this one bigger than any of the others slammed into the rock and this time they didn’t have the strength to hang on and were swept away.

The urge to just lie down and curl up into a ball hit Bloom so suddenly that she almost did it.

 _It would be easier,_ a little voice in her head whispered. _You wouldn’t have to deal with any of this if you just laid down right now and had a little sleep. You wouldn’t have to think about losing Stella or Brandon, or fighting any more monsters, or saving the pixies. You could just lie down and sleep for a while._

Bloom listed to the side a little, eyelids drooping. The idea sounded so good, to just lie down and close her eyes instead of facing the horrible possibility that Stella and Brandon might be-

A short scream followed by a yell from the adjacent tunnel had Bloom jolting upright, eyes snapping back open. Sky, her brain provided sluggishly. And Layla. Fighting monsters.

Bloom rolled awkwardly onto her knees and lurched into a standing position, stumbling towards the entrance to the other tunnel. Part of her still wanted to drop to the ground, shut her eyes, and just block out the world for a little while, but she forced herself onwards.

Stepping into the tunnel Bloom saw that Sky had already dispatched the remaining monsters, their carcases littering the ground. She waded between them, watching as at the other end of the tunnel Sky tried to help Layla where she was pinned up against the wall. It looked like one of the monsters had spat it’s bile at her, which had in turn turned into a rubber-like substance that seemed impossible to escape. Sky stood in front of her, gritting his teeth as he tugged at it.

“Please, Sky!” Layla begged, sounding near tears as she shifted back and forth in discomfort. “It burns!”

Sky didn’t respond, but tugged even harder, and it finally gave way, Layla tumbling from the wall and into his arms. Sky caught her with a noise of surprise and held on as she got her feet back under her. An odd feeling shot through Bloom at the sight of them together, but she attributed it to the lingering emotions over Stella and Brandon, and brushed it away as she closed the distance between them.

“Thanks,” Layla was saying to Sky gruffly, who nodded and let her go.

“No problem. You okay?”

Layla’s expression was still pained, no doubt from the bile that was still clinging to her skin, but she nodded firmly. “I’m fine.” She glanced at Bloom uncertainly, but the redhead still felt too off-kilter to determine why.

She forced herself to smile and step closer, picking away a bit of the bile stuck to Layla’s shoulder. “That stuff looks gross,” she said lightly, and flicked the clump away.

“Yeah.” Layla brushed at her skin quickly, but the bile was stubborn and most of it remained in place. “Are Stella and Brandon-”

“They went over the edge.” Distantly, Bloom noticed that her voice had grown hard and cold, and that Layla and Sky were watching her with concern, but she couldn’t bring herself to care in that moment. “We need to go find them.”

Layla bit her lip but didn’t argue. _Good,_ Bloom found herself thinking savagely as she turned on her heel to lead them back down the tunnel and towards the cavern. She was surprised by the vehemence of her thoughts, but she couldn’t help but think that if they hadn’t been here to save Layla’s friends, Stella and Brandon wouldn’t be hurt right now.

Sky kept pace with her as they hurried along the tunnel, and Bloom glanced sidelong at him, wondering if she should apologise for her earlier actions. Stella was Bloom’s best friend and in her panic it had been all too easy to forget that not only was Brandon Sky’s best friend, but also that they’d known each other a lot longer; she wasn’t the only one hurting here. She opened her mouth to say something but wavered, unable to find the words so she settled for reaching over and slipping her hand into his. Sky didn’t say anything but he did squeeze tight as he put on a burst of speed and led them out onto the ledge.

Layla joined them, and together the three of them peered over the side. The sliver of sky visible high above them did little to light the cavern so they could only see so far below them before the rest disappeared into the gloom.

“We have to get down there and see what’s happened.”

“But how? I’ve still got this bile stuff all over my wings.” As if to demonstrate her point, Layla tried to flutter her wings but they could only move lethargically, gunked up by the rubbery bile.

“And I still can’t transform either,” Bloom added. “So we can’t fly down.”

“Luckily you have a specialist in training with you.” Sky pulled his PHA from his belt and held it up. “This has a grappling hook attachment. We dig it into this rock ledge and one of us rides it down to the nearest ledge. They send it back up and the next person comes down. Once all three of us are on the next ledge I’ll pull it free and we start all over again.”

“That’ll take forever,” Layla argued.

“Yeah, but without your powers it’s the only way.”

“And not going down there isn’t an option. We need to see what happened.”

Bloom knew there was a blatant challenge in both her voice and her eyes as she stared at Layla. She wasn’t usually so confrontational, but the Under Realms had gotten to her head, hurt her friends, and taken her powers, she was sick of being pushed around.

For a moment she could see the indecision in Layla’s eyes and she seriously thought the girl was going to turn around and disappear back into the tunnel to look for the pixies. And Bloom thought a large part of Layla probably really wanted to, but finally the advantages of sticking together won out and she held her hands up in surrender.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

The process was as slow as Layla had warned it would be. Sky first had to find a good place for the grappling hook extension to dig into the rock, and then go down first and scout out a place for them to land. Once he did he would send the PHA back up and it would be Bloom’s turn. It was a terrifying experience, dropping slowly in the middle of the massive cavern so she spent most of it with her eyes tightly shut until she felt Sky’s gentle hands touch her waist and guide her onto the ledge. Layla would bring up the rear, handing the PHA to Sky once she’d landed so he could pull the grappling hook free, often dislodging clumps of rock as he did, and they would start all over again.

They were lucky that tunnels opened out onto the cavern the whole way down and almost all of them had some kind of outcrop for them to land on, even if it was a little tight. And so finally they reached the bottom of the cavern.

It was pitch black down there, and Bloom tried to breathe deeply and not feel claustrophobic as she craned her neck back to see how far they’d come. It was impossible to remember which ledge they’d started at and the sliver of sky she’d once been able to see had grown so small as to be miniscule. Shaking off the disorientation, Bloom looked down again and was relieved when Sky hit a button on his PHA and it started emitting a soft light, illuminating the dim cavern base.

Heart pounding in her throat, Bloom looked around trying to orient herself. They quickly found the remnants of the ledge that had felled Brandon and hurried over. Most of it had been reduced to small rubble from the force of the fall, which they kicked through, looking for their injured friends but finding nothing much to their relief. The largest pieces still intact had fallen on the monster Brandon had been fighting, killing it.

It was Sky who finally said it. “They’re not here.” His voice was shaking, as was his hand as he brought it up to run through his hand distractedly. He didn’t seem to know whether to be relieved that they hadn’t found them gravely injured or worse, or worried because they still didn’t know where they were.

“Then where could they-”

“Wait,” Layla said softly. Her head was cocked to the side, pale eyes unfocussed as if she weren’t really seeing what was in front of that. “What is that?” she murmured more to herself than the others, and suddenly looked to the side. She gestured for them to follow her as she moved along the cavern wall over to a spot where the ground dropped away.

“You don’t think-” Bloom began.

Layla never looked away from the river down below. “I think they fell in there and were carried off,” she said grimly.

Stella resurfaced for a second time, coughing and spluttering, Brandon doing the same on the other side of the river.

“Well, this is less than ideal,” he called. He was hugging close to the wall, trying to find any ridge or ledge to hang onto to slow down. Stella did the same on the other side. Gloves weren’t usually her style but right then she wished she had some like Brandon as the rough walls tore up her palms even further.

“You think? I feel like I’ve drunk half this river.”

“Just think of it as spring water without the bottle.”

Stella threw him an unimpressed look as well as she could while clinging to the wall. He gave her a tired smile in response, which faded as soon as he saw what they were heading towards.

“Okay plan B.” He kicked off from the wall and crossed the river in a few strokes before colliding with Stella on the other side. She looked over his shoulder and shrieked.

“Seriously?! Aren’t we dealing with enough.”

She could see now not only why the current was so strong but also what it was pulling them towards. For in the distance the tunnel walls opened up into another cavern into which the water was spilling; a fall they were about to take as well.

Brandon’s hand dived under the water, re-emerging with the PHA. He wasted no time clicking one of the buttons. A grappling hook shot from it and latched onto a ridge in the wall, bringing them to a temporary halt.

“Now you pull that out?” Stella yelled accusingly.

“I was saving it for an emergency.”

“I think this qualifies,” Stella muttered into his shoulder, before pulling back to get a better look at him. “Brandon?”

He met her gaze. “Yeah?”

“Don’t let go of me?”

They stared deep into each other’s eyes and for once Stella didn’t care that her hair was probably limp and stringy from the water, or that her makeup had run, or that she looked exhausted from being in the Under Realms. When he looked at her like that none of that stuff mattered.

“You got it, sunshine.”

He leaned in, Stella doing the same, but before their lips could meet, they felt a jolt. They both looked around in horror to see the rock ledge the grappling hook was lodged on starting to crumble.

“Brandon-”

“Hold onto me!”

The rock gave way and the current immediately began to pull them towards the waterfall. Stella buried her face against Brandon’s neck, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, then they only had time to take a big gulp of air before they were going over the side and falling into the unknown.

“Right,” Bloom said briskly, and began looking for a place where she could climb down.

Sky reached out and took her arm to steady her when she slipped a little on the loose rocks, but it was Layla who said, “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Bloom said without looking at either of them. “I’m gonna climb down and jump in.”

Neither Sky nor Layla answered and finally Bloom stopped long enough to glance back at them. Sky looked like he wanted nothing more than to jump in alongside her but something was holding him back. Layla was looking in the other direction, eyeing the tunnel that the water was emerging from.

“We really need to be going that way,” she said softly. “The river leads away from the pixies.”

“Maybe Layla’s right.”

Bloom stared at Sky aghast. To his credit, Sky looked like he hated the words coming out of his mouth.

“I know Brandon’s a strong swimmer, and Stella’s from Solaria so she probably is as well; they’ll be okay.”

“And the pixies have been in the Under Realms for days now, they won’t last much longer. We can rescue them and circle back to find Brandon and Stella.”

Bloom looked between them. “Anything could happen to them in that time.”

Layla’s eyes narrowed and an edge of impatience crept into her voice. “And anything could be happening to the pixies while we stand around arguing.”

“Let’s sit down and talk it out,” Sky said, clearly trying to be diplomatic. “But whatever we decide, we need to stick together. It’s too dangerous to split up even more.”

“We can talk if you want, but I’m not going to change my mind.”

Bloom glared at Layla’s back as the fairy wandered away, before shifting her attention back to Sky.

“You’re seriously taking her side?”

“This isn’t about sides. It’s about weighing up the pros and cons and going with the plan that makes the most sense.”

“And you can compartmentalise like that? You can just forget that our best friends need us? And ignore that if the situations reversed they would definitely prioritise us first.”

Bloom regretted the words as soon as she said them, as hurt fractured across Sky’s face.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, looking away.

“No, you’re probably right,” Sky said, his voice sounding thick. “Stella and Bra-” Sky cleared his throat. “Stella and Brandon probably would come for us first. But we can’t send Layla off on her own either. It would be suicide.”

Bloom couldn’t look at him. “It’s just- she’s always been there for me. And now I can’t do the same.”

She felt a hand touch her arm hesitantly, before sliding around her shoulders and drawing her close when she didn’t resist. And without stopping to think about whether it was a good idea or not, Bloom turned and rested her head against Sky’s broad chest, taking comfort in the solid feeling of his body against hers.

She felt his chin rest lightly on the top of her head. “I know, it’s so hard. It’s the same with Brandon for me, he always-” Sky broke off, shaking his head. “We’ll find them, Bloom. I promise.” He sounded like he was making the promise to himself as much as he was to Bloom.

“Okay.” Bloom let herself take one more minute before pulling back with a firm nod. “Okay,” she said again. “Let’s do this.”

Sky’s eyes skimmed over her face before he held out his hand to her. Managing a small smile, she slipped her hand into his and together they went to join Layla to start figuring out how to get out of this cavern and find the pixies.

“How did you know where to find me?”

Riven wasn’t surprised that Musa knew it was him without even turning her head. With the superior hearing all Melodians had, she’d probably recognised the tread of his feet the second he’d started walking up the stairs towards the tower classroom.

“You mentioned over the summer that this was where you come whenever you’re upset.”

Musa stayed turned away from him, shoulder and hip leaned up against a pillar of the open air classroom as she looked out over the lake.

“Who said I was upset?”

Riven shrugged and came to stand next to her. He didn’t look at her, not sure if that was because if she _was_ crying he knew she wouldn’t want him to see her like that, or if he was worried about how he would react if he saw her tears.

“I guess you’re not then.”

“No, I’m not,” Musa said, and out of the corner of his eye, Riven saw her jut out her chin stubbornly. It made him want to smile. “And I’m not worried either.”

“Okay.” Riven thought this might just be the most agreeable he’d ever been in his life. He wondered what it was about this pint sized fairy that brought it out in him.

“Should I be?” she asked, and Riven heard the first note of doubt creep into her voice.

“Well, yeah.” Riven had never seen any sense in sugar coating things and he wasn't about to start now. “Those guys probably screwed everything up.”

A strangled sob emerged from Musa’s throat, surprising them both. Neither knew who moved first, whether Riven reached for her, or Musa turned to him, but one moment they were standing apart, not looking at each other, and the next she had her head against his chest, and his arms were around her. For a moment they simply embraced, Musa’s sobs coming in earnest now, but then she pulled back, pointing a finger at him and still managing to look threatening despite her tear streaked face.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone I cried.”

She managed to hold back her sobs only long enough for him to nod, and promise, “I won’t,” before her face crumpled again and he pulled her back towards her. “I won’t,” he said again, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

Down on the quad, Flora watched them together before sighing and looking away. She hadn’t meant to spy on them or anything; the dorm had simply too much for her to bear, so she’d gathered up Kiko - who she was looking after while Bloom was away - and taken him down to the quad so he could run around somewhere that wasn’t the girls dorm for a change. And then by chance she’d glanced up and noticed Riven come to join Musa and she’d been too entranced to look away.

Flora didn’t begrudge her friends their boyfriends, even if they couldn't quite admit that that’s what they were yet, seeing them together just made her ache for Liliana. Or maybe, she corrected herself as she rubbed her fingers over Kiko’s soft fur, she just missed what Liliana represented. Someone closer than a friend, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on, someone to hold her when she was sad.

She was lonely, Flora realised with a jolt. She was lonely, and Flora thought she might have been that way for quite some time now.

“Hey.” A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped. But it was just Tecna, her friend sinking to the ground beside her.

“Hey, where’s Timmy?”

“Going back to Red Fountain.” Tecna tried to smile like it wasn’t a big deal but Flora could sense that the peace she’d found with Timmy was already starting to abate. “You nervous for them?” Tecna asked before Flora could say something to try and ease her worries. 

Taken aback, Flora remained silent, and Tecna inclined her head to Flora’s hand. Without even realising it, she’d accidentally grown an entire crop of daisies, methodically plucked them, and she was just finishing assembling them into a flower crown. Flora’s mouth opened a little in surprise and Tecna chuckled. The brunette shrugged to herself a little and reached up to settle the crown atop her friend’s head. Tecna, looking bemused, reached up and touched a hand to it, but didn’t remove it.

“They’ll be okay,” Flora said, sounding more confident than she felt.

“Yeah,” Tecna agreed, and they both ignored the way her voice shook a little.

“Of course they will,” Musa said brusquely as she flung herself down beside them.

Flora turned to her in surprise, and over her shoulder caught sight of Riven walking across the quad towards the front gates. Musa didn’t turn to watch him leave, in fact the girl looked for all intents and purposes like whatever had just happened at the tower hadn’t happened at all.

* * *

“I wonder where they came from? They must have come over the falls.”

Stella furrowed her brows at the voice but didn’t open her eyes, choosing instead to burrow in closer to the warmth wrapped around her.

“Oh, look how tightly he’s holding her, isn’t that sweet?”

If the voice was talking to anyone in particular, they didn’t answer. Only Stella let out a noise, groaning quietly at the continued intrusion; she didn’t know who was in her room so early, but she was going to kill them for waking her up.

“I do hope they’re still alive. Go on and poke them with your club, Abrupto.”

The words barely had a chance to penetrate Stella’s sleep addled mind before she felt something sharp poke her roughly in the side. Completely fed up now, her eyes snapped open, and as her surroundings came into focus everything came rushing back.

She and Brandon - for it was Brandon’s arms around her - were lying on a sandy beach, water lapping gently at their feet. The sound of rushing water was still audible and when Stella turned her head she could see the waterfall had deposited them in a small pool, the motion from the falls no doubt being the cause for them washing ashore.

Those details hardly mattered however when she laid eyes on the two creatures standing over her.

“Brandon,” she muttered, surprised when the word didn’t come out as a screech. “Brandon,” she said again, grabbing his arm and shaking it urgently. He uttered a quiet groan and started to stir, but not fast enough for Stella’s liking.

The creatures, and Stella really couldn’t come up with any other word for them, were humanoid in shape, with long limbs. Their faces were long and pointed, with large intelligent eyes, and small mouths. They wore little clothing, both wearing skirts that were hardly more than a few scraps of fabric and nothing on their chests, revealing their incredibly sallow skin. One was quite skinny with shiny red hair, while the other was stacked with muscle and wore his inky black hair in a top-knot.

“Brandon!”

Finally Brandon woke up and scrubbed a hand over his face groggily. “What’s going on?” 

He blinked a few times, still looking bleary as he glanced from Stella, to the thin creature, before finally settling on the muscled one. His gaze immediately zeroed on the large, studded club the creature held. Surprising Stella with his swiftness, Brandon’s hand leapt to the sword hilt at his belt, but even he wasn’t quick enough to draw it before the creature struck out with his club. He cracked it over Brandon’s head, rendering him unconscious once more.

A scream burst from Stella and she attempted to scramble towards Brandon but the sand seemed to lurch underneath her hands and knees and it was all she could do to remain upright. To make matters worse, the creature levelled his club at her, and she drew still, lifting her hands in the air.

“Stay where you are,” the creature grunted. Stella nodded carefully even as her vision swam, and kept her hands in the air.

“Don’t worry about your friend,” the other, thinner creature assured her, hurrying over to Brandon and checking his pulse. “Abrupto didn’t hit him so hard. He’ll wake up soon.” Where the other creature - Abrupto - had a deep, guttural voice, this creature’s was light and dreamy, and Stella realised it was his voice that had woken her up. “Now can you walk, Miss?”

Stella almost corrected him on instinct and told him that she wasn’t a Miss, she was a Princess, but something stopped her; she didn’t know who or what these creatures were, and as such didn’t know how they would take to a foreign Princess on their lands. So instead, and eyeing Abrupto carefully to make sure he didn’t attack, Stella attempted to push herself upright. She didn’t make it halfway before her legs shuddered so hard and her stomach jerked so violently that she collapsed back into the sand. Abrupto watched her fall passively, not attempting to help her.

“No matter, no matter,” the thinner creature said, still sounding perfectly happy. ‘We’ll get you back to Downland so you can receive treatment. Yes, don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.” 

As he spoke, the creature untied a bundle of sticks from his waist and began fitting them together in quick, practised movements. Watching his hands, Stella realised that he only had three fingers, rather than five. She shuddered and looked away.

“What are you? If you don’t mind me asking,” she added, trying to remember the diplomatic manners her mother had drilled into her.

The creature didn’t seem offended by the question, if his delighted tone was anything to go by. “We’re trogs, Miss. The native people of Downland. And my name is Sponsus.”

“Oh,” Stella said faintly. “Nice to meet you Sponsus.”

“Here we are, Miss.”

In a matter of minutes Sponsus had taken the bundle of sticks and a piece of canvas, conjured from Dragon knew where and constructed a makeshift stretcher. Sponsus offered Stella his hand and she tried not to recoil as she allowed him to help her to her feet and over to the stretcher. She stretched out, glad that lying down seemed to temporarily clear her vision, and watched on as Sponsus got Brandon’s unconscious body situated on his own back. The trog had to be hiding some muscle somewhere because Abrupto didn’t offer any help, leaving Sponsus to line Brandon and himself up back to back on his own. He then undid his own belt and looped it around both their torso’s to keep Brandon in place. Finally, staggering a little under Brandon’s weight, Sponsus came back over to the stretcher and picked up the handles by Stella’s head, preparing to drag it along behind him.

“Okay,” Sponsus said, only sounding the slightest bit out of breath. “Off we go.”

Abrupto, who had so far been silent, turned on his heel and stomped off, Sponsus following along slowly. Stella, already woozy again from the renewed movement, tried not to think about what his silence meant for their future.

It was hardly the most comfortable journey Stella had ever been on. Sponsus could only lift one end of the stretcher she laid on, so the bottom dragged along the rocky ground. That coupled with her worry for Brandon meant Stella was almost glad to be dropping in and out of consciousness as they went along.

She was fading back in, her vision staying blurry for much longer than she knew was good, when she heard Brandon wake up.

“Wha- what’s happening?! Stella?!”

“Just relax,” Sponsus said soothingly, not stopping even as Brandon began wiggling around. “We’ll be in Downland soon and then I can untie you.”

“Untie me now,” Brandon demanded angrily. “I can walk on my own.”

“I’m afraid that’s probably not true. The falls would have disoriented you enough without Abrupto’s knock to the head.”

“Where’s Stella?”

“Your friend is right here, she just isn’t feeling too well at the moment.”

Stella summoned the energy to glance up and call out, “Down here, darling.”

Brandon lifted his head, and looked down at her. “Stella! Are you okay?”

“Yep,” Stella lied. “Just a bit dizzy from going over the falls.”

“Just hang in there, Stel. I’m gonna get us out of here.”

“There’s no need to get worked up,” Sponsus said patiently. “We don’t get visitors very often but when we do trogs are very gracious hosts. Did you know you can tell the overall well being of Downland based on how brightly the hemian crystals are glowing?”

Sponsus nodded to the side, and Brandon and Stella looked over to see that the trog was right. Jutting out from the sides of the tunnel were bright blue-green crystals that were emitting a strong glow, lighting their way.

“The crystals have glowed extremely brightly ever since Queen Amentia took the throne.”

“Oh, shove a rock in it,” Abrupto grunted suddenly. Thus far, he’d been walking ahead of them silently, but something Sponsus had said had set him off. “The crystals don’t mean anything. That’s just something the queen and her ancestors made up.” Abrupto turned back around and stomped on.

“You’ll have to forgive Abrupto,” Sponsus said to Stella and Brandon quietly. “He’s been in a bad place ever since Queen Amentia decided he and his fiancee weren’t a perfect couple. She has the final say over all marriages in Downland, and Abrupto’s girl ended up marrying another trog, someone Queen Amentia thought was more suitable.”

Abrupto gave a sudden roar and slammed his club against the tunnel wall, shattering a clump of crystals. “That’s enough,” he bellowed, striding up to Sponsus. “You may be in love with the Queen, but not all of us are. And if you want that head of yours to remain intact, you’ll never mention her around me again.”

This time Abrupto waited until Sponsus had nodded meekly, before he stalked away.

“So, you’re in love with the Queen?” Brandon asked Sponsus in an undertone.

Sponsus watched Abrupto’s retreating back carefully before nodding. “Queen Amentia is a vision of beauty. Like the hemian crystals, she glows from within. She’s a bit of a perfectionist, but that’s only because she’s so perfect herself. She’s pure as an underground stream, elegant as marble, and bright as gold.”

“Wow, she must really be something.”

“Oh, she’s everything.”

Brandon almost chuckled at the open adoration in Sponsus’ voice before glancing down at Stella lying on the stretcher. Her face was pale, and her tawny eyes hazy and unfocused, and suddenly the trog’s obsession with his queen didn’t seem so funny anymore.

“Hey, are we almost there?”

“Yes. Look ahead and you’ll be able to see the royal palace.”

Brandon glanced over his shoulder, mouth dropping open at the city spread out before him. The cavern the tunnel opened out onto was easily ten times larger than the last one, and was filled with blockish looking houses and buildings. The trogs had clearly put the crystals to good use, mining them and attaching them to the ceiling of the cavern and to the buildings to light the way and make everything glow. The most resplendent building however rose us above all the others, and was absolutely bedecked out in the crystals; this, Brandon guessed, had to be the mysterious Queen Amentia’s castle.

As they made their way out of the tunnel and down the stairs, another large, muscled trog was coming the way. She nodded a greeting at Abrupto, then Sponsus, and stared curiously at Brandon and Stella as she passed but didn’t object and entered the tunnel without comment. They reached the base of the stairs and turned down one of the city streets. Abrupto stopped at a house and without warning, shoved the door open and disappeared inside.

“Goodbye, Abrupto!” Sponsus called out cheerfully. “Thank you for allowing me to accompany you. Now,” he said to Brandon, as he continued walking. “We can go back to my home and I’ll tend to the girl. And then maybe, we can go visit Queen Amentia, she might be able to assist you in getting back to where you belong.”

Sponsus’ home was only a few blocks down from Abrupto’s. The outside was like all the other’s on the block, plain and made of a dingy white stone, but the inside was warmly furnished, with wooden floors and yellow walls. Once they were inside, Sponsus finally let Brandon down from his back, the specialist surprised to find that he was much more unsteady on his feet than he was expecting. Still he managed to keep his feet under him long enough to help Sponsus lift Stella from the stretcher and carry her over to a bed-like lounge in the middle of the room.

“I’m the palace physician,” Sponsus told Brandon as he collapsed into a chair beside the bed. “But in my spare time I treat citizens of Downland as well,” he said, explaining the set up.

He crossed the room over to a workbench and began gathering all sorts of things together. Brandon watched him warily for a moment or two, but figured the trog had had plenty of opportunities to harm them already, so he felt safe enough to turn his back on Sponsus and focus on Stella.

“Hey,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. “Open your eyes for me, sunshine.”

Stella stirred a little, and her head lolled around to face him, eyes opening slowly. She squinted against the glare of the lights, and brought a shaking hand up to shield her eyes. The lights in Sponsus’ house weren’t overly bright, but they were the most light they’d been subjected to since arriving in the Under Realms the day before.

“Hey,” she said faintly.

“You’re not looking so hot, how are you feeling?”

“Like I could for a spa weekend right about now.”

Brandon managed a small smile; if Stella was still cracking jokes he knew she was doing better than he thought, but all the same he didn’t like the greyish tinge that her usually tan skin had taken on.

“How long have I been out?”

“About an hour or so. And my best guess is we were lying on that beach for a few hours as well. It must be morning again.”

“I had the strangest dream that we were captured by the most bizarre looking creatures.”

Brandon winced, and glanced over his shoulder, hoping Sponsus hadn’t heard. “Yeah, that wasn’t a dream.”

Stella’s eyes widened and she tried to struggle upright, but her arms gave out before she could. Sponsus came bustling back over, and Stella’s mouth fell open. Brandon squeezed her hand quickly and shook his head; as much as he cared for his girlfriend she had the tendency to say things without thinking sometimes and he didn’t want to risk offending Sponsus.

“Hi,” was all she said, voice small.

“Hello Miss. Good to see your eyes open again.” Sponsus’ big eyes moved to Brandon as he inclined his head towards the door. “If you would, please fetch the water vase over there, while I examine your friend.”

Sponsus instructed Stella to lie still while Brandon got up to get the water vase. It was a large ornate piece sitting by the door, filled to the brim with crystal clear water. It was heavier than it looked and Brandon let out a quiet grunt when he picked it up.

“The Under Realms are sapping your strength at an alarming rate,” Sponsas was telling Stella. “Something about the energy here affects fairies the most, it’s why we don’t get many visitors I’m afraid.”

“It won’t do any permanent damage will it?”

“Probably not. You just won’t be at your full strength until you leave.”

“Maybe if I could get back up to the surface for a little bit, and sit in the sun, I’d feel better.”

“The sun is your core power? It certainly wouldn’t hurt. But in the meantime, let me give you an energy potion. It’ll make you feel better and will hopefully give you enough energy to get back to the surface.”

Brandon arrived back with the water vase, dropping it beside Sponsus with a huff. The trog dipped a cup into it, before adding an assortment of herbs to it, occasionally stirring, and finally finishing the concoction off with a few sparks that emerged from his three fingers.

“Here,” he said, handing the cup to Stella. “Drink all of this.”

Brandon and Stella exchanged a fleeting worried look, before she shrugged and started to drink. If Sponsus was trying to hurt her, this was a rather elaborate way to do it. Brandon stayed and watched until she finished the drink to make sure sure she was okay, nodding in approval when the colour began to return to her face almost immediately. As she handed the cup back to Sponsus, Brandon picked the water vase back up to return it to its original spot.

“Make sure you put it back exactly where it was,” Sponsus said mildly.

“Thank you,” Stella said to the trog.

He turned back to her with a wide smile, and Stella thought that he looked slightly less alarming as he did, even if his eyes were still overwhelmingly large. “You’re welcome, Miss. We are opposites, you know? I was just above ground, picking flowers for my queen, and I could feel myself growing quite faint. And if you stay down here, you will only grow weaker- no!” Sponsus yelled the word so suddenly that Stella jerked upright, and Brandon drew his sword, looking around for the threat.

“What is it?”

“That doesn’t go there.”

Sponsus pointed to the urn that Brandon had placed back beside the door. Brandon glanced down at it in confusion.

“What do you mean? This is right where I found it.”

“No,” Sponsus said, sounding impatient for the first time. “ _This_ is where you found it.” He hurried from Stella’s bedside and across the room, where he dragged the urn an inch or so to the right and settled it just so, so the handles were perfectly parallel to the wall. “Queen Amentia likes it here.”

“Your queen sounds high strung,” Brandon said without thinking, but Sponsus didn’t seem perturbed.

“Oh, no, she’s wonderful. And so kind. Why don’t you come meet her and see for herself? Maybe she’ll authorise a guard to escort you up to the surface and make sure you get there safely.”

“What do you think, Stella?”

The blonde was sitting up on the bed now and looking much brighter. “Why not?” she said diplomatically. “I wouldn’t mind meeting this Queen Amentia.”

Sponsus only lived a couple streets away from the palace, so it was only a matter of minutes before they arrived and mounted the front steps.

“Sponsus,” one of the guards monitoring the front courtyard grunted. “I wasn’t alerted to a call for a physician.”

“No call for me. I would just like to request an audience with Her Majesty, I have some guests I thought she might be interested in meeting.”

The guard looked over Sponsus’ head, tilting her head a little in confusion when her eyes settled on Stella and Brandon. Finally she shrugged. “I’ll let Her Majesty know you’re here.”

“This could take a while,” Sponsus advised them. “If Her Majesty decides to receive you out here, she’ll wash her face, hands, and feet fifteen times before coming out.”

“So, she’s a neat freak as well as a perfectionist,” Stella muttered.

Brandon chuckled and slipped his hand around her waist, drawing her close. “No matter how many times she washes her face there’s no way she’s as perfect as you.”

“Aren’t you just a charmer,” Stella said, but she was smiling.

A sudden drum beat started up and Sponsus snapped to attention. Brandon and Stella followed suit as the wide double doors opened.

“Here come the ladies of the Court.”

A trog with long purple hair stood on the top step, looking down on the courtyard. She was pretty, for a trog, Stella supposed, but there was still something off-putting about her pale skin, large, dark eyes, and three-fingered hands. She gathered the skirts of her lavender coloured gown and descended the stairs walking off to the right.

Another trog had been standing beside her, similar looking but with black hair, pale blue eyes, and a pink dress. This one paused a beat, before moving to the left. Lady after lady appeared at the top step before moving either left or right, twelve in total, until there was a line of six trogs on either side of the doors.

The first trog to have come down the stairs, cleared her throat. “Fall to your right knee!” she called loudly.

Sponsus, the guards, and all twelve ladies of the court immediately fell to their right knee, Brandon and Stella following awkwardly a second later.

“The one and only, immaculately beautiful, and fabulously perfect, Queen Amentia.”

Having their heads down as they bowed, neither Brandon nor Stella saw Queen Amentia when she arrived, her appearance left to their imagination until a simpering voice called for them to rise. And rise they did, their heads lifting so Amentia came into view, and it was all Stella could do not to make a noise of surprise. Brandon dug his fingers into her ribs warningly and her mouth clamped shut.

While the ladies of the Court might have been beautiful for a trog, the same could not be said for Amentia. If Stella had thought the other trogs she’d met were pale, then it was clear that Amentia had not seen the sun a day in her life. Her skin was so pale it was almost grey which was a shocking contrast to her long black hair. She wore a simple bandeau top with a long, draped skirt, which revealed her thin stomach, and willowy limbs. Her eyes were large like any other trogs, but were a dull copper colour and were made even more bizarre by the dark purple makeup she wore to match the purple and gold crown perched atop her head.

“By the Dragon. That eyeshadow is not a good look.”

“Stella,” Brandon said quietly.

But Amentia didn’t seem to have noticed them yet. She only had eyes for Sponsus, or rather the bouquet of flowers he was holding out to her.

“Queen Amentia, as a thank you for the honour of your presence today as well as the perfect job you do in ruling our realm, I bring you flowers from above.”

“How kind of you, Sponsus,” she said. Amentia had a high, girlish voice that didn’t seem to quite fit her appearance.

“It is my honour.” Sponsus sounded happier than Brandon and Stella had ever heard him as Amentia descended the stairs and came to collect the bouquet of red roses. “It has been hard work tending to my garden on the surface, but it is worth it, so I might present these flowers to you.”

Amentia took the bouquet, and sighed happily as she gently touched a finger to one of the roses. Then smiling widely, she lifted the flowers to her nose and inhaled deeply, her eyes drifiting closed.

“Such a beautiful scent. Thank you, Spon- wait!”

Sponsus stiffened, and when he spoke his voice had lost it’s usual happy note, and was stuttering. “M- my Queen?”

Amentia’s eyes had snapped open, and were now narrowed in anger, as she glared down at the flowers.

“One of the petals is wilted,” she hissed, her voice shaking with barely repressed fury.

Brandon shifted nervously, and pulled Stella in closer to his body. He didn’t go for his sword yet, in case it set off the guards, but he was ready to fight their way out, should the need arise.

“My Queen!” Sponsus cried, clearly aghast. “I’m so sorry! They were perfect when I picked them, I swear. But they wither so quickly in the dark.”

Amentia let out a grating screech and tossed the flowers to the side, one of the ladies of the Court dodging them neatly as though this were a daily occurance.

“I have no use for wilted flowers!” Amentia bellowed, stopping one sandaled foot.

Sponsus dropped to his knees, pressing his head to the stone ground. “I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. Please, I beg your forgiveness.”

Amentia cocked her head, furious tears drying up as her tantrum abruptly ceased. “Fine Sponsus. I suppose I can find it in my heart to forgive you, as long as it doesn’t happen again.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Sponsus said, scrambling to his feet. “Thank you so much, Your Majesty.”

Amentia waved away his grovelling with an airy hand, and looked past him to where Brandon and Stella stood. “So it’s true, you brought Upworlders to my palace.”

“Yes, my Queen. This is Stella and Brandon. Myself and Abrupto found them washed up by the waterfall, and the girl was quite ill so we brought them back here to be treated. I was telling them how kind and generous a queen you are and how you might consider helping them get back to the surface.”

Amentia was quiet as Sponsus spoke, listening impassively as she stalked closer to the pair. She circled them once, and then twice, taking in every detail about them.

“Your hair,” Amentia said to Stella when Sponsus was finished. She reached out and took a lock between two of her fingers. “It’s so ugly.”

“Well,” Stella said sharply, clearly doing her best to keep her cool. “I did just go over a waterfall, so I’m not exactly at my best.”

“Oh, did the water turn it this horrid colour as well?” Amentia tossed her own shiny, black hair, smirking a little, when Stella’s cheeks went an angry red.

“Excuse me-” she began furiously, but cut herself off when Brandon squeezed her side warningly.

“You’re excused,” Amentia sniffed, her eyes sliding towards Brandon. “But you. You’re not nearly so bad.”

Brandon coughed uncomfortably, but forced himself to smile. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“No,” Amentia said thoughtfully, tapping her chin as she sashayed closer. “Not nearly so bad. In fact quite lovely. Has anyone ever told you that your face is quite harmonious? Almost perfectly in balance.”

“Well, thank you. I take after my dad actually. But about that escort back to the surface-”

“Did you know, Brandon, I’ve been looking for a husband for some time now?”

“Oh,” Brandon said, not knowing what else to say. “Really?”

“My Queen?” Sponsus began, sounding worried. “Please don’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

Amentia didn’t seem to hear him, and behind her the ladies of the Court shifted a little, whispering amongst themselves as they watched on curiously.

“Yes, Brandon,” Amentia simpered. “I’ve been looking for a husband, and I think you’ll be the perfect candidate.”

A lot of things happened in quick succession after that.

Stella let out of a screech of indignation and tried to summon her powers to no avail. Sponsus crumpled to the ground in the background, but neither Amentia, nor any of her ladies seemed to notice because they were all chattering loudly amongst themselves, and the Queen was too busy calling for her guards. And Brandon tried to go for his sword, but couldn’t even get a hand to the hilt before two trog guards had appeared on either side of him to frogmarch him into the palace.

“Brandon!” Stella cried, trying to run after him, but more guards got in her way shoving her back.

“Stella!” Brandon bellowed back, trying to tear himself free of the guards hands. His efforts doubling when one of the guards pushed Stella to the ground. “You leave her alone!”

Amentia gestured for the guards to take Brandon inside before stalking back to stand over Stella. “You can leave now, your presence isn’t required any more.”

“You can’t do this.”

Amentia’s smile was so smug, Stella’s hand ached to reach up and slap it off. “Actually I can. This is my realm and I can do whatever I want in it. Now, you better get out of here before you waste away completely.”

And with that last threat delivered, Amentia straightened and whirled away, practically skipping back into her palace.

Bloom was hardly feeling rested when Layla suggested they get an early start the next morning. They had found the tunnel that Layla swore would take them to the pixies the night before and had walked along it for hours until they finally had to stop for the evening - not that it felt much like night considering they couldn’t see the sky. The night that followed wasn’t particularly restful for any of them, as they swapped between guard duty and trying to sleep on the hard ground with only a thin sleeping bag to soften the rock.

“How are you feeling?” Sky asked Bloom, as he offered her a hand up.

 _Ready to go find our friends,_ she almost said before stopping herself. It wasn’t Sky’s fault that they couldn’t go looking for Brandon and Stella straight away. It wasn’t even Layla’s fault. They just needed to go find the pixies as quickly as possible, then they could come back for their friends.

“Good. Ready to get moving,” Bloom said instead of any of that, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her voice.

Sky looked like he could see straight through her facade, but he just smiled a bit, touched her elbow gently, and nodded, before indicating that she follow Layla who was already moving along the tunnel, while he brought up the rear.

Stella sat huddled up on the steps of Amentia’s palace, trying to force her brain to think and come up with a plan. There was no way she had the power to storm the castle and rescue Brandon, even with the energy potion Sponsus had given her. She was just considering if there might be a way to sneak in rather than try brute force when something heavy poked her in the side.

She straightened with a jerk and glanced to her left to see a studded club retreating. The trog wiedling it, was wearing the armour of the palace guard, and was staring down at her from her tall height.

“You need to be going, Miss,” she grunted.

Stella swallowed, trying to ignore how dry her throat was, and said, “I’m not going anywhere without my boyfriend.”

Something like sympathy flickered across the trog’s face. “Her Majesty won’t take it too kindly if she comes back and finds you sitting here. Things could get nasty.”

“Nastier than kidnapping my boyfriend and forcing him to marry her?”

The trog made a face at the volume of Stella’s voice and glanced around worriedly, but the other guards weren’t paying them any attention. The trog grunted a little and bent down so she could drop her voice.

“The truth is Her Majesty will likely grow tired of your friend within a few days and let him go of her own volition. But if you insist on fighting your way to him, like I’m guessing you’re planning on doing, you’re going to need more energy than you’ve got now.”

The trog held out a three-fingered hand to Stella who instinctively flinched away. The trog didn’t react however and just waited patiently until the blonde took it, before helping her to her feet. Stella’s head swam for a few seconds as she got her feet back under her, but Sponsus’ potion was still working a little and finally her vision cleared.

“Go down these stairs and follow the main road out of Downland. It’ll lead you to a tunnel entrance; if you follow the main tunnel along and don’t go into the branches it’ll lead you pretty much straight back to the surface.”

“Thanks,” Stella said, feeling bad for the way she’d flinched before.

The trog just nodded at her, gestured for her to start her trek down the stairs, before returning to her station. Stella took the dismissal for what it was and took a step towards the stairs before stopping and glancing back at the palace. Somewhere in there was Brandon.

“I’ll be back,” she promised in a quiet voice. Her bottom lip wavered a little at the thought of leaving him behind, and she could feel moisture begin to collect in the corners of her eyes, but both of Stella’s parents had long taught her that a Princess didn’t cry in public. So instead of letting those tears fall, she pressed her lips together tightly, and squared her shoulders as she turned away. She _would_ be back, and once she was, Amentia wouldn’t know what hit her.

Inside, Brandon was doing his level best to convince Amentia that despite his handsome face she didn’t _really_ want to marry him.

“Why would you want to marry me anyway?” he asked incredulously, as she stalked along a corridor, skirt billowing out behind her. “I’m a lowly squire,” he continued, trying not to sound bitter as he spoke. “You need someone to help you rule.”

Amentia scoffed loudly, sparing him the briefest of glances. “Hardly. I’m a queen in my own right, I don’t need you to do anything but sit there and look pretty.” She shrugged and swiped a finger along a nearby banister, smirking when it came back clean. “Well, and make sure the staff are keeping my palace in tip top shape.”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that. Like I said, I’m a squire, I’m usually the one being ordered around not doing the ordering, I wouldn’t know the first thing about managing a palace.”

“I’m sure you’ll learn.” There was something threatening in Amentia’s face when she smiled at him. She gestured for the guards to open the doors ahead of her, which they did, revealing a grand throne room. She glided on through, Brandon trudging along in her wake. “I would think you’d be more interested in your new home.”

“It’s nice,” Brandon said half-heartedly. “Look, I haven’t even finished school.”

Amentia didn’t seem to hear him. “Come, see your new throne.” She led him up a steep set of stairs towards a pair of thrones on a tall platform. Once at the top Amentia immediately turned around and sunk into her throne, regarding him with a smug smirk while Brandon shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“Look, I’m with someone else already. My girlfriend, Stella, remember?”

Amentia’s smirk grew as she raised an eyebrow, looking completely unconcerned. “People change partners all the time. Especially when _I_ tell them too.”

Brandon thought about what Sponsus had told them about Abrupto and his fiancee and swallowed nervously.

“And besides,” Amentia continued before he could speak, her face turning stormy. “If it’s really that much of a problem for you, we could always bring that yellow-haired Upworlder back down here and take care of her. I’m sure she hasn’t reached the surface yet.”

Brandon’s blood ran cold at the implication in Amentia’s words. “No,” he heard himself say distantly. “No, I don’t think we need to do that. It would be my honour to sit by your side as your husband.”

Amentia grinned, the grin of someone who had never been denied anything before and had just gotten what she wanted once again. “Excellent. Now come here.” She went to rise from her throne and reach for him but Brandon stumbled back a hasty step.

“Uh no,” he said, thinking quickly. “We’re to be married soon, right?”

Amentia shrugged carelessly. “Tomorrow, maybe the day after. I don’t like long engagements.”

“Of course, neither do I. But see the thing is, where I’m from, Eraklyon, we have a custom where the bride and groom don’t see each other in the week leading up to the wedding.” Brandon chuckled nervously. “We’re already breaking tradition.”

Amentia surveyed him for a long moment, idly tapping a finger to her painted lips, and Brandon really thought she was going to say to hell with Eraklyon tradition and drag him to her kicking and screaming. But then she shrugged again.

“Fine,” she said, and crooked a finger for the guards to join them. “Take him to his new quarters.”

Brandon turned eagerly towards the steps and began to go down them, stopping only when she called his name.

“Brandon.”

“Uh, yes, Your Majesty?”

She smirked. “I’ll let you have your little traditions now, but tomorrow we will be married, and then there’ll be nothing keeping us apart.”

Brandon swallowed down a noise that might have been a yelp and managed a nod. Amentia leaned back in her throne, satisfied, and watched through narrowed eyes as Brandon scampered down the stairs and hurried from the room.

Stella knew she had to be close to the surface again by the way the tunnel was inclining at a steep angle and her muscles were burning in protest. Which was good because she had to walk with a hand on the wall to keep her balance and the orb of sunlight she was using to guide her way was growing dimmer by the second.

But she had to be close. She just had to be.

Through her hazy vision, Stella saw a distant sliver of daylight and put on a burst of speed. She forced herself to keep going until the daylight was more than a mere sliver and she was feeling sunshine all over her skin for the first time in twenty-four hours. She fell to her knees, a few sobs of exhaustion escaping her, and she rolled onto her back, already feeling the sun start to do its job and regenerate her energy.

“I think we’re getting close,” Layla told Bloom and Sky as they trudged along. “I’m serious,” she said, a bite in her voice when the others didn’t look convinced. “We should be well away from the river now, but look there’s water dripping there. And there was water at the base of the cavern Shadowhaunt’s castle is built into.”

Layla stomped off ahead, but Bloom, feeling bad, bit her lip and hurried after her so she could keep up with the longer-legged girl. Layla had put out a hand and scooped up a handful of the water that was dripping from the cave roof, using her powers to twirl the water in a strand between her fingers, pulling at it and manipulating the particles.

“That’s cool,” Bloom said, noticing how Layla’s fingers remained dry. “Do you never get wet?”

“I do. But I can repel water if I want to and am concentrating on doing it.”

“Even if you’re completely submerged.”

“Depending on how much energy I have, yeah.”

“Does that mean you can breathe underwater as well, because you can repel the water from your lungs.”

“It doesn’t work exactly the same,” Layla explained, changing the water strand into a ball and tossing it from hand to hand. “I can repel water for as long as I have energy, but that doesn’t mean I can replace it with air. So it’s useful if I need to keep the water out of my lungs for a few seconds while I get back to the surface, but it won’t sustain me underwater without additional underwater breathing spells.”

“That’s so interesting.”

“Really?”

Bloom didn’t notice the surprise in Layla’s voice and nodded eagerly. “For sure. I’m still learning how my powers work, and there are so many different power sources, sometimes I feel like I’ll never catch up. You all seem to just know what you’re doing.”

“We have had our entire lives to develop our powers, you’ve only known about your powers for a year, right?”

“Yeah.” Bloom scuffed her boot against the rocky floor a little, like she was embarrassed by the admission, but Layla, on the other hand, was amazed.

“And you already have so much control over them? Not to mention took down three senior witches last year?”

“I had help,” Bloom said, but she was smiling. “Thanks, Layla. Really. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, so it’s nice to be reminded that I’m not messing absolutely everything up.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not,” Layla assured her, before hesitating. “And I’m sorry,” she continued awkwardly. “About before. For snapping at you. I just-”

_I just have never really talked to girls my own age this much before._

_I just have never really hung out with girls my own age like this before._

_I just have never really had someone I might consider a friend before._

“-I’m just tired from sleeping terribly on that rock floor. And being in the Under Realms for so long is getting to me.”

“Tell me about it. I can’t wait to get back to Alfea for a hot shower and a night in an actual bed. At least our powers are coming back now.” Bloom’s voice brightened as she conjured up a palmful of crackling flames.

Layla couldn’t help but smile a little as she watched Bloom attempt to manipulate her flames in the same way she had done with her water. The flames flickered as they circled the redhead’s wrist before abruptly vanishing when Bloom swore and yanked her arm away.

“I’m still working on not burning myself,” Bloom said, her voice sheepish.

“You’ll get there.”

Sky appeared beside them from where he’d been tactfully lagging behind. “Are you okay?” he asked, taking Bloom’s hand in his so he could see her wrist.

“Yes,” she said, smiling fondly, when he ducked his head to inspect the wound closer. A few locks of blonde hair had worked their way free of his hair tie and fell in his eyes; Bloom itched to push them back, but held herself back, curling her fingers into a ball instead to resist the impulse.

“Are you sure? I can bandage it for you.”

“Thanks, Nurse Sky, but I think I’ll survive.”

Sky smiled ruefully, like he knew he was overreacting a little, and let her hand go. Bloom found herself missing the contact almost immediately, but forced herself to turn to Layla, who was watching them. When she saw Bloom looking back, Layla glanced away and inclined her head towards the tunnel.

“Should we keep going?”

“Yeah-” Bloom began, but broke off, when she heard the distant growl of approaching monsters. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she could tell by the expressions on Sky and Layla’s faces that they had heard the noise as well. “Yeah, we need to get out here,” she said, and they immediately broke into a run.

They hurtled along the tunnel, Sky’s torch lighting the way a little but not enough to stop them from stumbling over the uneven ground and stray stalagmite. They were running as fast as they could but even so they could hear the monsters gaining on them, and knew that soon they would be upon them.

“Bloom, can you transform yet?”

Bloom tried in answer to Layla’s question, but all she got was a flicker of her fairy form before it disappeared. Her powers were coming back but not fast enough for her to put up a decent fight. Layla’s solemn head shake told her that the other girl wasn’t having any luck either.

“There’s an opening up ahead!” Sky yelled from behind them, where he was still bringing up the rear.

They all put on a burst of speed, passing through the opening. It wasn’t an escape route like they’d all hoped, but it was a slightly larger, defensible room, lit by crystals embedded in the rock, so at least they could see what they were fighting. They ran for the far side of the room so they could set up their attack with their backs to the wall, but the monsters had finally caught up.

One shot a mouthful of bile at Sky, who dodged it neatly and withdrew his favoured long sword, but Bloom wasn’t so lucky. She was still making a break for the other side of the chamber when the other monster shot a dozen spikes at her. One caught her in the leg, and she fell to the hard ground, yelping in pain.

“Bloom!”

Bloom gasped out a breath, trying not to focus on the pain as she attempted to push herself to her feet. But her leg fought the movement, her muscles spasming against the intrusion of the stone spike that was stuck deep into her flesh. She fell back to the ground, letting out a sob.

“Bloom!”

“Sky!”

The spiked monster lunged for Bloom where she lay defenceless on the ground, but Sky leapt between them with a yell, swinging his sword with brutal accuracy. The monster’s thick, rocky exterior meant the blade glanced off but the attack was enough to give it pause.

Layla, in the meantime, was facing off with the long-necked monster, desperately trying to think up a plan that would save her from being drenched in bile once again. Her powers hadn’t returned enough to put up a fight against the monster, and she was struggling to come up with any other ideas. She patted frantically at the pockets of her shorts, before pulling out a nondescript white package.

“What?” Layla murmured, before realisation dawned on her. “Faragonda’s seeds.” She glanced up to see the monster quickly advancing on her. “Worth a shot,” she said, before ripping open the package and scattering them on the ground between herself and the monster. “Let’s see how you like that.” Layla smirked triumphantly at the monster, while backing up a few steps.

Her smile slipped however when the seeds did nothing but lie there, before disappearing completely as the monster took a step forward and crushed a few of the seeds beneath it’s massive foot.

“Uhh-”

 _‘When you_ activate these seeds with a burst of magic _they give off a very bright light that will drive the monsters away.’_

Layla clutched a hand to her forehead, unable to believe she’d forgotten such a vital piece of information. The monster took another step towards her and she skittered backwards again, her brain already scrambling for another plan when a familiar voice suddenly spoke.

“Need a hand?”

Stella, surrounded by an aura of gold magic, came flying into the room, wings out and sceptre in hand, clearly ready for a fight. She tossed a smile the way of her friends, delighting in their clear shock, before zapping the seeds with a neat jet of sunlight.

The effect was instantaneous; the seeds burst open, iridescent plants growing from them, the branches crusted with illuminated leaves that shone brightly. They grew bigger and brighter, until eventually they all, except Stella, had to look away. Which meant they didn’t see the retreat of the monsters, but they certainly heard the pained shrieks they left out, and then the thundering footsteps as they hurried away. Faragonda had been right; after living their existence in the darkness of the caves, they just couldn’t handle the brightness of the light plants.

“Bye now,” Stella said smugly, waving after the monsters.

Job done, the plants began to wilt almost immediately, drooping before withering away to almost nothing. Their short-lived existence might have been sad, had the others not been so happy to see Stella.

“Stella!”

“You’re okay!”

“Where’s Brandon?”

Stella permitted a fleeting hug from Sky, waved at Layla, before hurrying over to her best friend who was still on the ground, unable to get up with her injured leg.

“Darling!” Stella exclaimed, sinking to her knees beside her. “What have you done to yourself?”

“Who cares about me, where have you been?!”

“And where’s Brandon?!” Sky asked urgently, joining them.

“Well,” Stella said, expression growing grim. “You’ll never believe the trouble Brandon and I managed to find ourselves in.”

Brandon and Stella’s trouble with Amentia and the Downlanders was nothing to the trouble that was coming their way however. For Lord Darkar had been following their process and he was none too happy about the ease with which they’d driven away his monsters.

“How dare they,” Stormy shrieked, looking between the magical image of Stella, Bloom, Layla, and Sky, and Darkar sitting on his throne.

“They need to pay,” Darcy agreed.

“Let us go to them,” Icy began. “We’ll-”

“Silence,” Darkar hissed.

Never ones to take being treated like sidekicks, the three witches almost bit back at him, but something in them kept them quiet. Darker’s helmet covered his face and it made it impossible to read his expressions, and they were still learning to judge his moods from his voice. And besides they still felt some gratitude for the way he’d broken them out of Light Haven. They could play the part of the dutiful minions. For now.

“They made sport of my monsters,” he said, voice low and shaking with barely repressed anger.

“Yes,” Icy purred. “Yes, they did. What are you going to do about it?”

Darkar leapt from his throne and took a step, then another, before unleashing a deafening roar of pure fury. A roar that seemed to shake the room.

But it wasn’t just the throne room that shook, but all of Shadowhaunt, a tremble that raced from the corners of Shadowhaunt and into the Under Realms nearby.

Stella was just telling them about how she’d awoken after her exhausting journey to the surface feeling completely rejuvenated and had immediately come to find them when the tunnel around them began to shark and quake.

“What’s happening?” she yelled over the sound of the rocky walls shifting and cracking. She snatched up her sceptre from where it lay on the ground beside her, but there was no enemy for her to attack.

“Feels like a quake!”

“We need to move,” Sky said, noticing how the walls and ceiling were already beginning to crumble.

Bloom tried to push herself to her feet, but her leg was no longer just sore, but also stiff. There was no way she was getting anywhere fast.

“You guys go!” she yelled to her friends. “I’ll follow as fast as I can.”

Sky didn’t even bother to entertain the notion, and immediately slid one hand under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her into the air. He held her tight to his chest, and jerked his head to indicate Layla go first.

“You lead, Layla. We can’t stay here, and we don’t want to go the wrong way.”

“Okay,” she said, voice hard with determination. The room branched off in three directions, and Layla glanced around once before pointing to the right one confidently. “We need to go this way.”

And without stopping to consider what might happen if they were wrong and the tunnel caved in behind them they all plunged into the tunnel. They just had to hope that it would lead them closer to Shadowhaunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fam,
> 
> Another day, another chapter. I have to say this was one of my favourite to write so far this volume, and I think it showed in the length (30 pages in google docs and almost 14k words). Even though it feels like this part of the season can drag on sometimes, I really like all the storylines because it has a nice balance of filler and plot stuff. You also get a lot of nice character moments while they're all wandering around caves, as well as all the fun Brandon/Stella stuff of course.
> 
> We kind of saw a bit of a development in the Layla/Bloom friendship, which I'm hoping you picked up on there. There's still tension, but also a nice bonding moment that I'm hoping to build further on later. It wasn't really an intentional thing but I really like how it came about, so I'm hoping you guys liked it as well. Plus there was quite a few nice Bloom/Sky moments for all the Skloom shippers out there.
> 
> As always thanks everyone who reads, leaves kudos, bookmarks, and sends me asks about my fics. You can leave a comment here or send me an ask @gins-potter on tumblr - I try to answer all of them asap. Please let me know what you thought about the chapter!


	5. Shadow Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they fight monsters, brandon loses his patience, and we get our first two fairy/pixie bonds

“You want us to do what?”

Bloom gritted her teeth and forced herself to look up to where Stella and Layla were standing over her having a stare down of epic proportions.

“Go rescue my friends first,” Layla said. Where a red blush was giving away Stella’s growing frustration, Layla was staying maddeningly calm, which Bloom thought was only serving to irritate Stella further. “At this point we’re much closer to Shadowhuant than Downland; it only makes sense to keep going and then circle back for Brandon.”

“That’s ridiculous! What about my boyfriend? That crazy queen could be…”

A sudden burst of pain shot through Bloom’s leg, tearing her attention away as she gasped and glanced down. Sky, who hadn’t looked up at all throughout Stella and Layla’s argument - and in fact looked like he couldn’t care less that they were speaking at all - finally paused in his ministrations and looked at her.

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

Bloom smiled a bit despite the pain as she said, “Yeah, but I don’t think there’s a way you can get it out without it hurting at least a little.”

Sky took her hand, squeezing it briefly, before his hands returned to the spike still embedded deep in her thigh. He tried to slide it out as slowly and gently as he could, but stopped again when Bloom couldn’t contain a noise of discomfort. “I don’t think this is working,” he sighed. “I want to try and pull it fast, okay? It’ll probably hurt more but at least it’ll be quick.”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

He took her hand again, giving her something to hold as he prepared to yank the stone spike. Stella and Layla finally seemed to notice what was going on, as their argument abruptly came to an end as they came over, Stella taking Bloom’s other hand. Sky didn’t give her any warning before he pulled the spike out, but that might have been a good thing because it didn’t give Bloom a chance to anticipate the pain or tense up. 

The agony that raced through her leg was even worse than before and Bloom let them all know about it by the vicious curses she spat out in protest but at least the spike was out. And the pain abated quickly as Layla helped Sky apply gauze and bandage the wound.

“There wasn’t a lot of blood,” Sky told her as he secured the bandage. “It’ll be sore, but I think you’ll be okay until we can get you back to Alfea and see the healer. You want to rest a while longer?”

“No, no, we should keep going.”

“And rescue Brandon, right?”

“We’re going to rescue the pixies first!”

“Enough!” Bloom snapped, the pain in her leg and their constant arguing finally getting to her. She tried to push up from the ground and had to bite back a curse when she stumbled and Sky had to reach out and steady her. “Stella,” she said, once she had both feet on the ground again. “I know you’re worried about Brandon, we all are, but the way it sounds, Amentia isn’t going to hurt him anytime soon, not if she wants him for a husband. But the pixies have been in Shadowhaunt for days by now. We need to get them out before anything bad happens, if it hasn’t happened-” Bloom cursed herself internally, and cut herself off when she saw Layla’s face go ashen at the implication. She looked to Stella pleadingly.

The blonde looked like she wanted to argue further, before she too glanced at Layla and sighed. “Alright,” she said, sounding defeated. “Pixies first, then Brandon.”

All eyes turned to Layla, waiting for her to guide them on where to go next. Their new friend swallowed roughly, and cleared her throat a few times, before she was able to talk.

“Well, the good news is that while the middle tunnel would have been a more direct route into Shadowhaunt, the one we took didn’t take us too far out of the way.”

When the underground cavern had been shaking, Layla had only had a split second to decide the best tunnel out of three to take. The one on the right side she’d led them down had eventually opened out into the open air, a small area further down than most of the rest of the surface, and which fell away into a steep ravine. The open area had given them a good chance to enjoy the sun and regenerate a little bit while Bloom had had her leg tended to by Sky.

“I’m fairly certain if we go down into this ravine we’re going to be on the other side of cavern Shadowhaunt is in.”

“And what if there aren’t any openings?” Stella asked challengingly. She might have agreed to rescue the pixies first, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. “I can teleport us inside, of course,” she continued haughtily, tossing her hair. “But that’ll drain a lot of my power.”

“Well, we’ll just have to hope we can find an opening.” Irritation was starting to creep into Layla’s voice and Stella smirked a little.

“That’s hardly a great plan-”

“We could always use the PHA,” Sky broke in. “It has a teleportation feature. It can’t handle big distances or anything, but it’ll be fine to get us through a bit of rock.

Layla smiled, victorious, while Stella scowled.

“How convenient.”

Layla acted as though she hadn’t spoken and led them to the edge of the ravine, saying happily as she went, “Down we go.”

The bat’s screeching reached the pixies a minute before the swarm itself arrived, giving them a chance to brace themselves. Lockette whimpered, hiding her face in her hands while Tune wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Amore on the other side of their cell was being comforted by a tight hug from Chatta.

“Why do they do this?” Lockette cried just as the swarm arrived.

“To scare us,” Tune said grimly.

The shadow bats, native to Shadowhaunt like the rest of the monsters, came flying through the area that contained their cell, screeching and swarming around their cage even though they couldn’t enter it. The noise combined with the violent movements made all the pixies - even Digit and Tune who were the most stoic of the group - flinch, with Lockette and Amore letting out cries of distress.

“Well, I wish they would go away!” Chatta harrumphed. She disentagneled herself from Amore and strode right up the edge of their cell, waving her arms to shoo the bats away. “Go away now! Shoo!”

“That’s not going to work,” Digit said knowledgeably. “Shadow bats are blind and you aren’t being nearly loud enough to scare them away.”

Chatta whirled around and planted her hands on her hips. “Are you telling  _ me _ , a pixie of gossip, that I’m not being loud enough?”

“Yes, because your magical core is hardly relevant when you need to increase your volume by at least 150% if you want to scare them away.”

The bats immediately forgotten, Chatt stomped up to Digit, who looked completely nonplussed by her irritation, sprawled on the ground of the cage as she was. “You can’t possibly know that.”

Digit’s eyes flashed as she straightened. “Yes, I can, because I’m right.”

“It’s so unbecoming when we bicker amongst ourselves,” Tune sighed. Her eyes still on the swarming bats, as she stroked Lockette’s arm subconsciously. Both Chatta and Digit ignored her.

“You listen to this, Digit,” Chatta was saying. “I’m sick of your know-it-all attitude. The other day it was that thing about the berries I found making me sick, and now you’re pretending to be an expert on shadow bats.”

“Knowledge is power,” Digit said sagely.

Chatta plowed on, ignoring her. “At least I’m doing something to try and drive those revolting things away. So instead of sitting there in your standing code-”

“Do you mean standby mode?”

Chatta stomped her foot. “Whatever! My point is that you could be helping me!”

“They’ll go away on their own soon enough.”

“Digit-”

“Oh for goodness sake!” Tune ripped her arm away from Lockette and just like Chatta went right up to the forcefield encircling their cage. The other pixies exchanged glances before quickly clamping their hands over their ears.  **“Will all bats vacate the premises right now, PLEASE!”**

Tune’s voice was loud at the best of times, but when she used magic to enhance it, it turned downright deafening. She held the last word in a shrill, ringing tone, far surpassing the 150% increase that Digit had recommended. It had the desired effect however, and with one last squawk, the bats cleared out, fleeing from the noise.

A demure smile appeared on Tune’s face. “Thank you.”

Hesitantly, the other pixies pulled their hands away.

Chatta shook her head and smiled. “Even when she’s angry she’s polite.”

Tune looked affronted. “A lady never displays her anger,” she sniffed, pulling up one of her elbow length, white gloves. “I was merely suggesting they reconvene elsewhere.”

“I told you you needed to increase the volume of your voice,” Digit muttered.

“Oh, Digit! You listen here-”

“Well, well, what do we have here? Not arguing amongst ourselves, I hope.”

The silky voice announced Darkar’s arrival and instantly the animosity between Chatta and Digit disappeared. The pixies didn’t cluster together as he stalked closer, but they did grow completely still, watching him warily as he approached their cage. He circled once without speaking, and then twice, trailing his clawed fingers along the surface of the cage, apparently unconcerned with the little pops and hisses as the energy force was disrupted.

“We’re not arguing,” Chatta finally said, and her friends were impressed when her voice didn’t so much as quiver. “And there’s no point questioning us again,” she continued, sounding much fiercer than she felt. “Because we’re never telling you where our village is.”

The location of their village back on Magix seemed all Darkar was interested in but despite racking their brains, they just couldn’t figure out why. The village was important to them but that’s because it was their home and where the rest of their friends lived, there was nothing of much power there that Darkar could want.

But he didn’t seem to like Chatta’s insolence if the growl he let out and the way he lunged straight through the cage wall was any indication. The pixies all skittered back a few steps and Darkar stopped short, glaring at them.

“You insolent pixies  _ will  _ tell me where your village is,” he hissed, sounding as though he was speaking through gritted teeth. His hand shot out whip fast and wrapped around Chatta’s middle, yanking her off the ground. His talons cut into her skin and she let out a shriek of pain, instantly beating his hand with her little fists and kicking out, but she was too small to have any impact.

Her friends all let out cries of fear at her obvious pain, but Lockette’s voice rose above them all. “Wait!” she screamed. “I’ll tell you!”

The pixies all grew still and quiet, even Chatta, as Darkar cocked his head and shifted his gaze to Lockette who was trembling right down to the pointed tips of her boots.

“You can find our village at the base of a large tree-”

“Fine! I’ll tell you!” Chatta broke in, talking fast. “It’s underneath a boida fruit tree in the Endelong forest, ten minutes away from Whispering Falls.” Darkar’s eyes slid back to Chatta, narrowing in suspicion. The other pixies could recognise the power of persuasion Chatta was infusing in her words, but Darkar was oblivious, and therefore susceptible to its thrall. She would be more powerful if she could use the megaphone charm hanging from her necklace but with Darkar’s attention focussed solely on her, she had to rely on her natural ability. Chatta ducked her head, looking heartbroken, and the others tried to do the same. “Just don’t hurt our friends please,” she whispered brokenly.

There was a long, tense moment, where they all avoided Darkar’s eyes, hoping he’d take the bait. “You’d better be telling the truth,” he finally said, tossing Chatta back onto the bottom of the cell and stepping back out. “Because if you’re not, I’ll be back, and you definitely won’t like me then.”

None of them dared move, not even to breathe a sigh of relief, until they were sure he was gone. They rushed to Chatta’s side who slowly pushed herself to her feet and brushed the grit from her palms.

“Alright,” she said grimly, a rare occurrence for the usually chipper pixie. “That will buy us a bit of time, but now we really need to get out of here.”

“Do you think Layla has a thing for Sky?”

The question took Bloom by surprise so much that her head jerked around and she stumbled over a rock. Luckily Stella already had her arm wrapped around her friend’s waist and was able to keep her upright.

Bloom stared at the side of Stella’s face. “Where did that come from?”

The blonde shrugged as best she could and inclined her head forward. “They seem pretty chummy to me.”

Bloom followed her gaze to where Layla and Sky were further down the ravine, frowning a little. Sky had wanted to stay with Bloom and help her traverse the loose, uneven ground on her sore leg, but Layla had suggested that they go ahead and scout out the best way down while Stella assisted Bloom. So now, while Stella and Bloom were only just reaching the halfway point, Sky and Layla were nearing the bottom, chatting amicably, their occasional laughter drifting back to the other two.

“I think you’re imagining things,” Bloom said firmly.

Stella harrumphed. “I would just be keeping an eye on my man if I were you.”

“Sky isn’t ‘my’ anything,” Bloom said crossly, pulling away from Stella. “He’s my friend, that’s it, now give it a rest.” She attempted to stomp off but made it only a few steps before a section of gravel gave way under her feet. She scrambled for a few seconds trying to keep her balance, but her bad leg was ultimately too weak, and she ended up tripping backwards and landing heavily on the slope of the ravine.

“For fuck’s sake.” Bloom kicked out with her good leg, sending a plume of dust and dirt into the air while she wiped her sweaty forehead with her forearm. Being outside in the sun had been nice at first, but now the morning sun was painfully warm and she was almost looking forward to getting back into the caves as crazy as that sounded. She was beginning to see why the surface of the Under Realms was completely unlivable.

“Bloom, are you okay?”

Bloom waved away the concern, an act that was at complete odds with how she was feeling. “Yeah, I’m all good.” Further down, Sky frowned and looked on the verge of turning back and making his way back up to them.

“You guys keep going,” Stella called down to them from behind Bloom. “We’ll be there soon.”

Sky still looked unsure, but Layla touched his elbow, and gestured for them to keep going. Stumbling a little over the same loose gravel that had felled Bloom, Stella made her way over, and in a very un-Stella move flopped down gracelessly beside her friend.

“Consider the subject dropped,” was all Stella said before handing Bloom a water bottle as a way of apology.

“Thanks.” They were silent for a bit while Bloom drank and Stella watched Layla and Sky pick their way down the steep slope. “You know, she’s not so bad.”

Stella narrowed her eyes and made a cryptic noise low in her throat, but didn’t otherwise respond. “Come on,” she said finally, standing and brushing off the back of her shorts. “We should keep going.”

Bloom sighed but stowed away her bottle and let Stella haul her to her feet again. The rest of the trip down the ravine was as painful as the start, but eventually the stiffness in Bloom’s leg began to recede and by the time she reached the bottom she could walk unassisted with only the slightest limp.

“So, did you find an opening?” Stella asked, cutting Layla off in the middle of saying something to Sky. Her pale green eyes settled on Stella but she didn’t say anything, leaving Sky to explain that the tunnels were all closed up.

“But,” he said, brandishing his PHA. “We still have this.”

Sky gestured for them to get closer to the rock wall while he punched numbers into the PHA, readying the program for teleportation. “It’s simulated on a fairy’s teleportation spell, so it should feel very similar. Everyone’s down that before, right?”

When everyone nodded, he punched in the last number. “Alright. Here we go.”

There was a bright flash of light - not dissimilar to what happened when Stella used her sceptre to transport them - followed by the brief but disorientating feeling of moving through space very quickly. The light overwhelmed them and the ground disappeared beneath their feet before it abruptly reappeared as they slammed back to earth and their vision returned.

“My sceptre is much smoother,” Stella sniffed, trying to shake off the disorientation. She frowned when her eyes caught on the sight of Sky offering a steady hand to Layla who looked unbalanced from the journey. She glanced at Bloom but her friend was shaking her head to clear the momentary disorientation and hadn’t noticed the exchange.

“The PHA is but a poor imitation of your magic, Stella,” Sky agreed, a teasing grin tugging at his mouth. “Now should we keep going or do you guys need a minute?”

“Let’s keep going,” Bloom said, going to stand beside him. “The quicker we rescue the pixies the better. Besides,” she added as they took the lead and started walking. “We should be almost there by now.”

Layla moved to follow them but Stella stepped smoothly into her path, forcing the girl to stop and look up at her with a frown.

“What?”

Stella glanced over her shoulder to make sure Bloom and Sky were still unaware before turning back to Layla, leaning forward into her space a little.

“I don’t know what your deal is,” she said, talking low and fast. “Maybe you mean nothing by it, maybe not, but I’m just telling you now: Sky’s off limits.”

Layla blinked, her eyes shifting to glance at Sky and Bloom’s retreating backs, but otherwise she didn’t react. “I didn’t realise they were together.”

“They’re not,” Stella said dismissively. “But they will be. And they’ve been through enough shit without having to worry about you as well. So back off.”

Stella liked to think she was pretty good at reading people, she kind of had to be when she dealt with members of royalty and diplomats so often, but there was something guarded about Layla that made it hard for her to get a good feel on her.

“You don’t have to worry,” Layla said, sounding completely unconcerned. “He’s not really my type.”

Stella narrowed her eyes. “I just wanted to make sure we understood each other.”

“Don’t worry, we do,” she said, and stepped smoothly around Stella to follow the others.

The blonde huffed out a sigh. Bloom would be furious if she found out what had just happened but Stella couldn’t bring herself to regret doing it; no one messed with her friends.

“Stella! You coming?”

She glanced over her shoulder to find the trio looking back down the tunnel at her, Bloom and Sky curious and a little concerned, while Layla still wore that unreadable expression.

“Yeah,” she said, heading back towards them. “Just had to fix my shoelace.”

“-think the opening is just up ahead,” Layla was saying to the others when Stella reached them.

Neither girl looked at each other, or acknowledged the conversation they’d just had. Instead, Layla led them the short distance to the end of the tunnel, stopping where it opened out into an enormous cavern.

“This is it, guys,” Layla breathed, looking around. “This is Shadowhaunt.”

Brandon had been poked, prodded, and plucked, forced to bathe, undergo a full physical, and dressed in a ridiculous looking ceremonial robe and it was still only early in the morning. Well, he assumed it was early in the morning. Being underground it was impossible to tell for sure but it had felt like he’d barely gotten to sleep a few hours before a troop of trogs had woken him to begin preparing him for his wedding that night.

His wedding that night.

Even thinking the words made Brandon shudder, not that the trogs seemed to notice. They were too busy running critical eyes over him looking for imperfections. Imperfections, they’d assured him, would not be tolerated by Amentia.

Sixteen and married. It sounded like a bad reality tv show.

“Perhaps another bath in Pristine Complex B.”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

The conversation brought Brandon back to his senses with a jolt. “No,” he snapped. That stuff they’d made him wash with had stung his skin and no way was he going through that again, once was more than enough. “I’ve scrubbed myself within an inch of my life, let you cut my hair, and wax my eyebrows, which I can assure you is a pain I never thought I’d go through. I’m done. Amentia can have me as is or not at all.”

“Speaking of the eyebrows,” one of the trogs said. “I’m not sure they’re completely symmetrical yet.”

“Did you hear me?” Brandon yelled, finding himself on his feet, with no memory of deciding to stand. “I’m not doing it!”

The trogs continued to converse amongst themselves, while Brandon stood there, breathing hard as his pulse thudded in his temple. Brandon didn’t get mad very often; having six younger siblings had taught him how to have a world of patience after all, and he could probably count on one hand the number of times he’d raised his voice but in that moment he didn’t care.

The trogs were still ignoring his outburst so they didn’t see it coming when Brandon suddenly lashed out and sent the contents of a nearby table crashing to the floor. Pots of powder plumed into the air, glass bottles of foul smelling potions cracked and spilled, and the clasp of a necklace he was to wear during the ceremony burst open, the beaded ornaments sliding off the ends and rolling across the floor.

Horrified gasps emerged from the trogs as Brandon was abruptly forgotten and they all converged on the mess to begin cleaning up. But Brandon wasn’t done. He raced around the room knocking over bolts of fabric and upending tables and chairs. A gold box of clothes was tossed over his shoulder as he considered an ancient looking vase, wondering if he wanted to go so far as to smash it.

Somewhere at the back of his mind Brandon knew it probably wasn’t the trogs fault. Having spent even a few minutes with Amentia he already knew she couldn’t be an easy ruler to live under, but that rational part of him was easily and completely overwhelmed by the fear of what was coming in just a few hours.

“Announcing the one and only, immaculately beautiful, and fabulously perfect, Queen Amentia!”

At the guard’s sudden booming announcement, the trogs exchanged aghast looks and redoubled their tidying efforts. But there was no way they were fixing the mess Brandon had made in time. 

“I know you have that silly little tradition, darling,” Amentia trilled as she swept into the room. “But I couldn’t resist checking in-  **what is the meaning of this?!** ”

Brandon winced at the sound of Amentia’s voice, convinced she’d reached a higher octave than ever accomplished before. The trogs abandoned the mess and threw themselves onto the ground in front of her, foreheads pressed to the ground in the ultimate act of deference.

“Your Majesty,” one of them whimpered. “We’re so-”

“What are my groom’s wedding clothes doing on the floor?! He will not wear clothes that have touched the floor! Not even once! Now talk! Who is responsible for this?!” Amentia stalked from side to side in front of the trembling trogs, her long clothes swirling around her and revealing more of her sallow skin. “Speak!”

But the trogs despite their clear terror didn’t speak, probably thinking it wouldn’t do them any favours to throw the Queen’s future husband under the bus.

“Was it you?” she spat, leaning over a trog and nudging his shoulder none too gently with her sandaled foot. It was the fury that the gesture sparked in Brandon that prompted him to speak.

“It was me,” he said without stopping to wonder if he was making a big mistake. “I was the one who made the mess.”

Amentia pulled up short, looking thoroughly confused by the confession. She tilted her head and took a halting step towards him before an understanding smile broke across her face.

“Taking the blame? How noble. Take note,” she said, sneering at the still cowering trogs. “This is how a future consort behaves. What a fine husband you’ll make.”

Any hope that confessing would lead Amentia to kick him out died in Brandon’s chest and he just sighed, not offering any other response. Amentia’s focus shifted back to her subjects.

“Is he ready?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the trogs immediately said together, no doubt wanting to spend no more time with Brandon.

“At least you managed to do that. Take him back to his quarters,” she said to the guards, indicating Brandon with a lazy wave of her hand. “It’s time for your reflection before the wedding. You’ll spend the remaining hours before the ceremony being thankful for the wonderful life you’ll lead from now on.”

All hope had left Brandon so that he didn’t even have a sarcastic comment in response to that and didn’t put up a fight as two guards came over to escort him out the door. The last he heard as he was leaving the room was Amentia screaming for the trogs to clean up the mess.

The sheer scale of Shadowhaunt took Bloom’s breath away. The castle itself was massive and built right into the rock wall opposite them with various turrets and chambers forming what had to be a warren-like interior. Then there was the cavern that contained it which was tall and gloomy, the bottom of which was covered in the lake that she presumed fed the river Stella and Brandon had fallen into. The tunnel opening they’d come out of was probably halfway up the cavern and looking around it all, it was hard for Bloom to remember that this was all underground.

“Was Downland bigger than this?” Sky asked Stella. Bloom glanced at him, thinking that his best friend was clearly still on his mind and that he was already planning their trip to rescue him.

Stella ran critical eyes over the cavern. “Similar size, but different shape. Downland’s main chamber wasn’t nearly as tall but it had a lot more ground space.” She rolled her eyes a little. “As much as it pains me to admit it, at least the cave queen’s place was nicer than this.”

Bloom chuckled before glancing at Layla. “So how do we get up there.”

“Well, I came in from another tunnel on the right side,” she said pointing to a tunnel further up and close to the castle. “And climbed in from there. But there’s no way to get from here to that tunnel.”

“This opening does go further round,” Sky pointed out. He indicated to the left where a ridge had been cut into the rock, making a narrow path that traveled around and up.

“Right,” Layla agreed. “I think the ledge stops where that bridge starts so we can cross there. It’s a bit conspicuous and will take us a while to walk around to it, but it’s probably our best effort.”

Stella wrinkled her nose at the prospect of so much more walking. “Won’t it be quicker and easier just to fly in? We could hit them before they even know we’re coming.”

Bloom nudged her in the ribs while Sky held up a hand and said, “Hello? Can’t fly, remember?”

Stella smiled thinly. “Maybe that’s a sign you should sit tight here and let us go ahead.”

“We’re not splitting up,” Bloom said firmly.

“Oh, right, because why use our magic?”

“Because this place drains our magic too fast? And we need to conserve as much as possible in case there’s a fight. A fight that we’ll have a much better chance at winning if there’s four of us, instead of three.”

“I agree with Bloom,” Layla chimed in. “And it’s really not that far. I know you’re worried about Brandon, Stella, but this is the best plan.”

“Whatever,” she replied, throwing her hands up in defeat.

Layla offered to go first on the ledge, and as if to prove to Stella that it wouldn’t take long, she set a fast pace. The ledge had been cut far enough into the rock that they didn’t have to duck their heads or worry about where they put their feet and in no time they were scaling the slope and approaching the bridge.

“It looks pretty rickety,” Bloom said, eyeing it dubiously. The bridge was little more than a collection of planks to walk along, held together with metal and rope, and a long chain on either side to hold onto. She reached out a hand to one of the chains and gave it a shake, sending the whole thing moving and trembling.

“We’re just going to have to give it a chance and hope that it holds. If it breaks, just hang on tight, and swing to the other side. We’ll be able to climb up from there.”

Wasting no time, Layla took a firm hold of the chains on both sides, and stepped onto the bridge, moving as fast as she dared.

“I went to a water park in Sacramento once that had a ride like this,” Bloom told Sky. “Of course,” she continued through gritted teeth as she took the first, hesitant step onto the bridge. “It wasn’t nearly so high and there was a nice pool of water to fall into.” Rather than Layla’s way of holding onto one chain in each hand, Bloom elected to hold one side with both hands and shuffle sideways along the bridge.

“You sure do some strange things for fun on Earth,” Sky said, as he stepped onto the bridge after Bloom. All his training was telling him to move as fast as possible before the bridge had a chance to break, but Bloom clearly wasn’t comfortable moving any faster and there was no way he was leaving her behind.

Stella was the last one to step onto the bridge and she did so with a fierce scowl on her face. “I swear on the Dragon,” she hissed under her breath, trying not to look down. “If we don’t get back to Downland before Brandon is forced to say ‘I do’ I’m gonna shove my foot so far up that cave queen’s-”

“What’s that, Stel?”

“Nothing,” she called back sweetly, before going back to grumbling under her breath. Amentia wasn’t going to know what hit her when Stella finally got her hands on her.

“Stupid piece of shit!” 

The aggravated cry came a second before the phone was tossed down on the grass beside Flora making her jump. She lifted her hand to shield against the glare of the sun as she blinked up at Musa who was scowling furiously down at her.

“Damn thing’s broken and it’s not even that old. My dad’s gonna kill me if it needs to be replaced.”

Still clearly fuming, Musa threw herself down onto the grass, ignoring Flora when she patted her hand sympathetically. Instead she shifted her irritation to Tecna who was so absorbed in her laptop that she hadn’t even noticed her friend’s arrival.

“Hey,” she said, nudging Tecna’s knee with her foot. “Can you take a look at my phone? It’s not working.” Flora shot her a pointed look and she sighed. “Please.”

Tecna stopped chewing her thumbnail long enough to shoot Musa a distracted look and say, “Later. I’m in the middle of something.”

Musa’s scowl deepened. “Have you at least heard anything from the girls? Are they on their way back?”

“No, now stop distracting me. I’m trying to boost my phone’s power so I get messages faster. That way the second Timmy messages to tell me that they need to be picked up, I’ll know.”

Musa opened her mouth to argue, but Flora jumped in, trying to diffuse the tension. “Why don’t we go into Magix this afternoon to get someone to look at it. It’ll be a nice distraction and I’ll bet it’s something really simple wrong with your phone. Maybe the battery just needs to be replaced or something.”

Musa brightened at both the idea of getting away from Alfea for a few hours and the possibility that her phone could be fixed that very night. She usually wouldn’t be sick of Alfea so quickly, but without Bloom and Stella there, not only did it feel like something was missing but there was this horrible worry hanging over them.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said, gentling a little from her earlier anger. She sat up and picked her phone back up, glad to see that the screen wasn’t scratched. She carefully pried off the back panel, looking to see if there was anything visibly wrong with the battery before stopping short at the empty spot.

“Well, no wonder it’s not working. Someone’s taken the fucking battery out.” She glanced from Flora to Tecna. “Do you know who would- what’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“Tecna, is that the battery from my phone?”

Tecna blinked at her owlishly. “Yes? I took it last night. I told you I was trying to boost my phone’s power.”

“And that means taking the battery from my phone without asking?”

“Yes?”

Letting out a frustrated yell, Musa reached over and snatched the battery back, ignoring Tecna’s squawk of protest as she yanked it free of the cable. 

“I can’t believe you sometimes, Tecna,” she said bitterly, cramming the battery back into place.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for trying to get messages about our friends faster,” Tecna sneered in response, folding her arms across her chest.

“You just take things without asking-”

“-simply trying to boost the power of my phone-”

“-what if someone had needed to get in touch with-”

“-would have gotten you a new battery soon-”

-”important messages to receive-”

“What important messages?”

“What?” Musa said bluntly, and Tecna fell silent, similarly curious.

Flora tilted her head. “You said you had important messages to receive. Who from?”

Inexplicably Musa’s cheeks filled with colour and she stared determinedly at the phone screen where she was thumbing through the messages that had come in during her phone’s recess. Whatever she saw, or perhaps didn’t see, seemed to disappoint her. “No one. I’m getting important messages from absolutely no one.”

Flora eyed her friend, who was now avoiding her eyes determinedly, while a small smile played on her mouth. Still, she didn’t push the point. She didn’t have much of a chance to, for in that moment something very small and moving very fast appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the back of Tecna’s laptop.

“The fuck?!”

“What was that?!”

“Oh dear,” Flora gasped, looking at the crumpled figure who had fallen into a heap on the grass.

“Another pixie?” Tecna asked, shutting her laptop and moving it to the side.

“Looks that way.”

The pixie sat up and rubbed the top of her head, mussing her blonde curls even further. She wore a white buttoned up blouse with pale blue leggings. Her feet, like Piff’s were bare, but she wore a pair of interesting looking anklets which made it look as though she had a wing sprouting from each ankle. Lying on the grass beside her was an envelope that was the same shade of blue as her pants but looked much too large for a pixie to use for it was easily as long as the pixie was tall.

“What happened?”

“You crashed into us. You must have been flying very fast.”

The pixie frowned but didn’t confirm nor deny Tecna’s assertion. Instead she pushed herself to her feet, stumbling a little, before finding her bearings.

“Are you okay?”

“Never been better,” she said confidently, planting her hands on her hips.

“Are you sure? You hit that laptop pretty hard.”

“Absolutely. Now if only I could remember why I was flying this way.” The pixie scratched her head.

“Well, why don’t you sit down,” Tecna suggested kindly, and the pixie obediently flopped back onto the grass. “And maybe we can help you remember. Or at least take you to a healer if you can’t.”

“Thanks, that would be great, you guys are so kind and so nice, and oh my Dragon I didn’t even introduce myself!” The girls watched her jump back to her feet, eyes widening at her hyperactivity. Not only did she talk extremely fast but watching her stand up and sit down and stand up again was giving them all a headache. “Hi, my name’s Livvy and I’m a Messenger pixie from Herrolan Wood.”

“Hi Livvy, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Flora, and this is Musa and Tecna.”

“Herrolan Wood,” Musa repeated slowly. “Then you must know Layla, then?”

Livvy’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Layla’s our friend! Is she here? If she’s here she’ll be able to help me work out where I was going. She  _ always  _ helps me. Like there was this one time-”

“I’m afraid Layla’s not here, sweetie,” Flora broke in gently because it looked like Livvy was showing no signs of stopping any time soon. 

“She isn’t?” That pulled Livvy up short, and with a frown she sunk back down on the grass to sit cross-legged.

“Have you been back to your village lately?”

“Oh no, I was out all day yesterday delivering messages all over Magix. I didn’t get to all of them so I decided to spend the night in the city and finish delivering the rest this morning. Maybe that’s what I was doing, maybe I had a message to bring to someone here at Alfea. I wonder who it could be, of course I could…”

As Livvy prattled on, the three girls exchanged sad looks. It was almost lucky in a way that Livvy hadn’t had a chance to go home yet because she almost certainly would have led any monsters still in the area back to the village. But on the other hand, she likely didn’t know what had happened to her friends yet.

“Livvy,” Flora broke in quietly, and Livvy immediately grew quiet, cocking her head curiously. “Did you know that some of your friends were out picking fruit a couple days ago?”

Livvy thought for a moment, before exclaiming, “Oh, yes, I remember now. A whole group of them were going so they could get some boida fruit. Amore always makes boida fruit pie for the Autumn festival. It’s the best pie you ever did eat, I promise. She tried to teach me how to make it once but-”

“Well,” Tecna cut in. “While they were out in the forest they were captured by some monsters. That’s why Layla isn’t here. She’s gone with some of our friends to rescue them.”

Livvy’s hyperactivity seemed to disappear in a flash and she grew solemn. “Are they okay?”

Flora bit her lip and glanced at the other two. “Well, we’re not sure. But we managed to get Piff back,” she continued, clearly trying to cheer Livvy up. “She’s sleeping in our dorm. Do you want to go see her?”

“Yes, please!”

They’d just stood and were preparing to sneak Livvy up to their dorm, since it was morning break and they weren’t supposed to be in the residential wing, when the silver watch on Livvy’s watch gave an abrupt chirp and spat out a small piece of paper.

“Oh, it’s from Ninfea. She’s an elder pixie from my village. She just wants to know if I’ve delivered the message to Headmistress Faragonda… what message to Faragonda?” Livvy’s lips tugged down in a confused frown before she smacked a hand to her forehead. “By the Dragon, of course! That’s what I was coming to do! Deliver a message to Headmistress Faragonda!”

“Then I guess you’re in luck then,” Flora said and Livvy flew up to settle on her shoulder. “Because we happen to know where her office is.”

By the time Stella, Bloom, and Sky reached the other side of the bridge, Layla had been standing there for some time, looking up at the castle looming over her as she tried to get her bearings. The area she stood in was large and completely deserted, filled only with countless stone pillars that supported the upper levels.

“I think I need to get up there,” Layla explained, pointing to an open arch set into the next level.

“Great,” Stella harrumphed, looking around. “But how are we going to get up there?”

“We’ll look around until we find some stairs or another way up,” Bloom said reasonably.

“What?” Sky said to Layla when the fairy didn’t respond to the suggestion.

“I could scale that easily,” she said, but there was no arrogance in her voice. She was simply stating facts. “I could at least get up there and start working on breaking them out while you guys find another way up.”

The other three exchanged glances, before finally Bloom shrugged.

“Alright,” Sky agreed. “But I’m going with you.”

Finally Layla dragged her gaze away from the arch, her eyes sliding to Stella before flicking away again. “No, don’t worry about it. You three should stay together in case there’s any monsters in there.”

The others reluctantly agreed and watched as Layla fitted her foot into the ornate detailing of the castle’s outer wall and began to climb. The various ridges and curves of the stone gave her more than enough handholds to pull herself up and within just a few minutes, Layla had gotten to the top and was disappearing through the arch and into the depths within.

The second her feet touched down, she crouched down low and ducked behind one of the stone pillars to conceal herself. Peeking out from behind it she could see the cage her friends were being held in in the distance but more importantly she could see that they were alone.

“Layla!” she heard Lockette cry as she approached and couldn’t help but run the rest of the way, stopping just short of the humming barrier separating them.

“Hey,” she said, almost overcome with relief at seeing them all there and uninjured.

“We knew you’d come back,” Amore said, flying up into the air so she was at Layla’s eye level. “And thank goodness you did. We don’t have much time left.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“He was going to hurt us if we didn’t tell him where the village was,” Lockette began, and Layla felt her stomach sink. “So Chatta told him, but purposefully gave him the wrong directions. I’m sure it won’t take him much longer to find out she lied.”

“That was good thinking, Chatta. I guess, it’s a lucky thing that I’m here to break you out. For good this time.”

The pixies let out quiet cheers, except for Digit who didn’t look convinced.

“But how?” she asked Layla. “I’m pretty sure hitting the gargoyle last time was a red herring and that guy really let us out so he could follow us back to the village. I don’t know why but all he wants is to know where it is.”

Layla tucked that piece of information away for later; she didn’t know what he could be after there but she was sure the pixie village held its own secrets. What she was concerned about in that moment was getting her friends to safety.

“You’re right, hitting the gargoyle was too convenient last time. But maybe if three of us hit the cage itself this time we can overwhelm the magic fueling it. Lockette and Digit, do you have enough power to try?”

Lockette was already reaching for her clip to transform it into her sceptre, but Digit hesitated, cocking her head to the side.

“You want me to try an unlocking rune?”

“Yeah.”

Runes were a very old style of magic that had long since fallen out of disuse for their fiddly and unpredictable nature. When drawing a rune one had to be extremely precise otherwise there was no telling what spell the rune would activate nor how powerful it would be. Digit, having a keen interest in all branches of magic, had studied the ancient language for many years, but rarely had the opportunity nor the need to use them.

Layla knew Digit was thinking about this as she hesitated, and she knew despite the pixie’s tough bravado that she would be terrified of getting the rune wrong and accidentally making their situation worse.

“You can do this.”

“Of course she can,” Chatta said briskly, as if there were no doubt in her mind. “But if you need a hype up I can always-”

“Nope,” Digit said quickly, and reaching for the stylus she kept tucked behind her right ear. “That’s not necessary.”

Digit wasted no time in flying back down to the ground to kneel on the bottom of the cage and hesitated for only a moment before the tip of her stylus glowed a bright white-blue. Then she brought the stylus to the ground and began to draw.

It felt like she was drawing for hours, the slow and methodical way she drew the glowing white-blue lines on the ground, but it really could have only been a few minutes before she set the stylus aside and sat back on her heels and they all let out the breath they hadn't realised they’d been holding.

“It’s ready.”

Layla glanced at Lockette whose hands tightened on her sceptre. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

All three of them readied themselves to attack, Layla squaring her hands up to target the cell wall, while Lockette pointed her sceptre at it from the other side, and Digit laid her hands atop the rune, preparing to activate it. And then on the count of three they each unleashed their magic.

For a moment it felt as if nothing had happened, then a trembling started from beneath Digit’s rune, and Lockette took the brute strength of Layla’s attack and shaped it into an unlocking spell and directed it at the cage wall until the magical energy gave a final shudder and went out. There was a cry of happiness for the pixies and they threw themselves at Layla, knocking her to the ground, not that she seemed to mind what with the way she was laughing.

“Come on,” Bloom said, finally looking away from where Layla had disappeared out of sight. “The quicker we get up there, the quicker we save the pixies, and the quicker we get out of here.”

“And the quicker we save Brandon,” Stella agreed.

But they hadn’t managed to take more than a few steps through the gloom before a spell from out of nowhere caught Bloom in the back and threw her to the ground. It felt as though something charged with electricity had kicked her in the back, a feeling she hadn’t felt in months.

“Bloom!” 

Sky spun around, hand darting to the sword hilt in his belt as he tried to identify where the attack had come from. He wasn’t quick enough to withdraw his weapon however and had nothing to defend himself with as another attack, this one a dark purple and feeling of heavy darkness came at him, catching him in the stomach and knocking him down beside Bloom. Light on her feet, Stella managed to skitter backwards and dodge the pale blue stream of razor sharp icicles that punctured the hard rocky ground at her feet.

“What was that?” Bloom groaned, rolling over onto her back.

“I have a pretty good guess,” Stella muttered, kicking one of the icicles and reducing it to quickly melting slush.

Bloom’s eyes fell on the rest, going wide as she identified the familiar attack. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I thought they were supposed to be locked away.” Sky was already sweeping the surrounding area with his eyes, identifying the many pillars that were supporting the upper floors and would make perfect hiding places for a certain trio of witches.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Stella called tauntingly, as she helped Bloom and Sky to their feet.

It didn’t seem possible but the cavern seemed to grow even darker and though it was impossible, being underground as they were, Bloom could have sworn she saw dark clouds forming, out of which came jagged, red lightning. In the flashes of red light, she spotted three figures peel out from behind the pillars and walk towards them.

The one in the center was both the tallest and the thinnest, with silvery white hair that seemed to glow unnaturally in the darkness. To her left stood the shortest, with powerful arms and legs, and curly hair that seemed to defy gravity. And to her right stood the most innocuous one, average in both size and stature, and who’s eyes almost seemed to glow purple. Simultaneously familiar and terrifying, Bloom couldn’t decide if she wanted to flee at the sight of them, or stay and fight.

The Trix.

They stopped a few feet away, far enough to stay out of reach, but not so far that anyone would misunderstand their intentions. The storm died away, some of the light returning to the cavern.

“Well, if it isn’t some of our favourite pixies,” Darcy smirked.

“Did you miss us?” Stormy wanted to know.

“We certainly missed you.” Icy was smiling, but it was the kind of smile that made Bloom think the only thing Icy had missed about them was seeing them on the receiving end of one of her attacks.

“Can’t say that I have,” Bloom said tightly, looking Icy dead in the eyes. 

After all the night terrors, and day mares, and visions, she had wondered at length how she would react should she ever come face to face with the Trix ever again. Rhonwen, probably in an effort to comfort her, had always assured her that that would never happen and that the Trix were somewhere they could never get to her again. But something in Bloom had always felt the need to be ready in case they did. And now that she was here, she found that she felt almost as if nothing had changed.

“So,” Stella said airily, in that way only  _ she  _ could while staring down an enemy as formidable as the Trix. “Did you guys enjoy the loony bin?”

“You know, not so much,” Darcy said, echoing Stella’s tone.

“They tried to make us nicer,” Stormy added.

“And the funny thing is, all those affirmations and positive thinking, it just made us meaner.” The last word was spoken through gritted teeth, as Icy bared her teeth in an alarming grimace, and Bloom found herself with no doubts that going through Light Haven’s rehabilitative program had done nothing but make the Trix even crueler.

Sure enough, the time for talking seemed to be over for Icy lifted her hands, the air around them growing frigid as lethal looking ice shards appeared around her. Bloom just had time to notice the necklace around Icy’s neck as the gems suddenly glowed a bright blue before Icy’s hands slashed through the air and the shards found themselves at the trio. Sky’s hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her behind a nearby pillar while Stella ran the other way to take cover.

They heard the sound of the ice embedding in the stone and Bloom looked over to make eye contact with Stella. The fight was on, and it was time they joined it. In a flash they had transformed into their fairy forms and were ready to remind the Trix what they were made of.

But as they quickly found out, the Trix’s new jewelry weren’t just decorative, but the gems in the bracelets on Stormy and Darcy’s wrists, like Icy’s necklace, glowed with bright light and seemed to make them both stronger and faster. In a flash Darcy disappeared from beside her coven sisters and appeared behind Stella, already glowing a deep purple as her magic swelled.

“Watch out!” Bloom cried as she darted over and tackled Stella out of the way of the attack.

Bloom spun around in mid air and summoned flames to her hands in one swift movement, before hurling them at Darcy. But the witch was too quick and disappeared with a throaty chuckle before she was so much as singed by the fire.

Stormy closed in from the other side, immediately unleashing one of her signature tornados, which Stella flew to head off. The blonde chose to combat the attack with her own physical strength, remembering how difficult it was to wrestle away control of a tornado from Stormy. So she constructed a shield of glowing gold magic and used it as a barrier as she leant into the tornado, trying to force it back into Stormy. But the witch really had grown stronger because she shoved back harder and Stella was forced to stumble out of the way lest she get caught up in the torrential winds. Her boot caught on the uneven rock and she went down, hitting her head on the ground before everything went black.

“Stella!” Sky yelled at seeing her fall, but there was no answer.

Her friends wanted to go and help her but they had their hands full dodging Icy’s seemingly unending supply of icicles. Bloom and Sky darted to and fro, ducking behind pillars and using every move in their repertoire to avoid getting skewered by the deadly sharp ice crystals. Eventually they found themselves huddled behind one of the slightly slimmer pillars listening as Icy cackled and threw ice shard after ice shard into the stone.

Thinking the cover would give them at least enough time to get their breath back, they almost didn’t notice Darcy materialising in front of them, until her laughter alerted them. With Icy at their backs, and Darcy blocking any movement forward, there wasn’t really anywhere they could go. Bloom tried to fly up and draw Darcy’s attention away, giving Sky a chance to escape, but Darcy wasted no time bringing her fingers to her temples and locking eyes with Bloom. The normally brown irises flashed a bright purple and instantly Bloom felt every muscle in her body, including her wings lock up and she was frozen in mid air.

Before Darcy could attack Bloom, who, defenceless as she was, would have no chance to get out of the way, Sky leapt between them, drawing his sword and slashing at the witch in one swift movement. Ducking and weaving around Darcy, Sky drew her attention enough to lure her away, deflecting each energy blast she threw his way. Bloom had no choice but to watch on as Sky battled his way through Darcy’s defences only to be thwarted at the last minute as Icy appeared out of nowhere to freeze his feet in place.

“Oh, you Red Fountain boys,” she crooned. “You’re all so chivalrous.”

The ice grew, wrapping around Sky’s shins and locking his knees. But Sky didn’t lose his cool, yanking a boomerang from the pocket of his uniform, and throwing it without a second’s hesitance. For a horrible moment, Bloom thought Sky had badly misjudged his aim, as it flew high through the air, cutting neatly between the pillars and missing Icy completely. But then she heard the crack as it hit it’s target, cutting an upper bridge neatly in two, and sending one half of the bridge swinging swiftly through the air towards Icy where it was sure to knock her flying. The plan had been good, and perhaps had this been the previous year, before Icy had received that deadly necklace, she might not have had the speed to turn around and freeze the bridge in place before it hit her, but as it was her ice reached it just in time, and she only had to curl her hand into a fist for it to explode into a mess of ice shards and splinters.

She turned around slowly and stalked towards Sky, who even thought he was frozen in place by ice that had reached his hips and was still climbing higher, didn’t so much as flinch as she approached. No, he stayed completely still, staring her down with eyes dark with dislike, almost daring her to do her worst.

“That was a nice try,” she said, her voice like silk even as her eyes remained the same cold grey. “But I think time’s up for you now, hero boy.”

He caught sight of something over her shoulder and smirked. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Icy didn’t even have the chance to turn around before Layla’s wave was crashing down on her.

Lord Darkar lounged on his throne within the castle watching the fight between the Trix and the fairies with idle amusement. The one in green arriving back had thrown a temporary wrench in the witches attack but he doubted it would matter too much, with her allies momentarily down for the count, the fight was three against one.

His companion, lurking in his usual corner, spoke, the voice drifting out from the shadows. “She managed to get the cage open.”

“Hmmm?”  _ That  _ was a surprise. Darkar was momentarily distracted, wondering how the fairy had managed to break through his magic. Maybe, he mused, she was the key to it all. “Are they still up there?”

“No, my Lord. They’re flying towards the cave entrance on the north side, but it wouldn’t be particularly hard to contain them again.”

Darkar didn’t answer straight away, drumming at the arm of his throne with clawed fingers as he thought. “Leave them,” he decided. “We need them to escape if they’re ever going to lead us back to their village.”

“They gave the wrong directions then?”

“Of course.” Darkar reached out a hand and stroked those taloned fingers over Kerbog’s slippery wing. The faithful shadow bat was really the only creature that the Lord of Shadowhaunt held close and that was mostly for the convenience of being able to send it out on convert missions, like checking whether or not the pixies had been lying about the location of the village. As he’d expected, Kerbog had reported back that there was no village in the area, so it was time to try something else. “It’s no matter, sooner or later they will lead us there and I’ll take what I need. But in the meantime,” he continued, eyeing the fight once again. The fairy was still putting up a fight but it was clear her strength was waning. Soon it would be all over. “I think it’s time to put the next stage of our plan into action, don’t you think?”

His companion stepped out of the shadows, head dipping in agreement even as his features began to shift and move. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said, his sharp teeth catching the dim light as his lips pulled up in a dangerous smile.

Icy gave an outraged shriek as the cold water washed over her, the weight of it forcing her to her knees.

“Oh, sorry,” Layla said innocently. “I thought you could use a cool off.”

Twisting smoothly, Layla turned and smacked Darcy in the face with a smaller, secondary wave, forcing her to gag and rub the water from her eyes, while snaking a rope of water around Stormy’s feet and freezing her in place. Icy practically hissed at the sight as she clambered back to her feet.

“You dare use ice in front of me,” she spat, looking much less threatening than usual with the makeup streaming down her face and her hair plastered to her skin. “You think your magic is any match for mine?”

In an instant, Icy had forced Layla’s ice to evaporate, freeing Stormy, while Darcy wiped the last of the water from her eyes. The three of them converged on Layla. Bloom wanted to scream at them to leave her alone but moving was still impossible, even her mouth. Sky was yelling enough for the both of them but it was entirely in vain, because with the ice now reaching his shoulders, there was nothing he could do.

“Who’s the new girl?” Darcy asked, as they circled Layla.

“Who cares?” Icy snapped back, clearly not over the fairy’s use of ice.

To her credit, Layla’s composure never slipped, not even when Darcy disappeared and reappeared behind her, blasting her in the back with more of her dark purple magic. The force of the spell sent Layla's prowling but she kept her feet under her, pivoting and sending another wave of water at Icy. Growling, the witch’s hands came up to freeze the water before it could touch her and shatter it into a million pieces.

“Finish her off, Stormy.”

There were no arguments from the witch, and she swept an arm through the air to conjure a gale force wind that threw Layla bodily to the ground. She tried to get up and fight back but the hit had disoriented her too much and she slipped back to the ground to the sound of the Trix’s cackling laughter.

“This was almost too easy,” Icy smirked, glancing around at them all. Stella was still out cold on the ground, with Layla lying dazed beside her. Bloom was stuck frozen in midair, wishing she had the ability to curse at them all, while Sky was more concerned with the ice that was almost to his chin. “Now the only question is whether we go get Lord Darkar, or do we finish them off ourselves.”

She exchanged smirks with her two coven sisters.

“Finish them off ourselves,” they said together, grinning vindictively.

But before they could take even a step closer to finish the job, there was a sudden, bright flash of gold light that eclipsed the entire area. The Trix shrieked and shied back from the brightness of it, and even Layla and Sky turned their heads, but Bloom had no choice but to keep watching through squinted eyes.

And she was glad she did, for she got the first glimpse of the winged man who emerged from the bright gold. He was tall, and strong-looking with long, dark grey hair that fell in a long plait down his back. He kind of reminded Bloom of an old fashioned lord with his armoured breastplate, puffy cream sleeves, and tight fitting black pants that were tucked into shin high boots. The thing that set him apart however were the large, expansive wings that emerged from his shoulder blades. They were completely unlike the thinner, transparent membrane of fairy wings, but rather were thick, and muscled, and covered completely in white feathers that made them look not dissimilar to angel wings.

And there was something of an avenging angel in the gold aura that followed the man as he touched down on the ground and stepped past the Trix who were frozen with their mouths hanging open. He knelt first beside Layla, touching a hand to her head, and evidently healing her as the gold aura passed over her, before turning and doing the same to Stella. The girls straightened, Stella pushing herself up on one hand, and exchanged amazed glances.

The Trix still seemed completely befuddled as they made no move to stop the man as he walked over to Sky and melted the ice by pressing a single hand to it. Then finally he crossed to Bloom, casting away the spell that had her frozen, before catching her with deft, sure hands and helping her back to the ground. Despite his help, Bloom backed away from the familiar touch, joining Sky where he stood with Stella and Layla.

“Damn,” Stella breathed, still eyeing the man appreciatively as Bloom helped her back to her feet. “He is seriously fine.”

“Uh huh,” Bloom said vaguely. She was more intrigued by his sudden appearance in the dank and dark Shadowhaunt but she could agree that he certainly was as aesthetically pleasing as Stella said.

Apparently satisfied that they were all okay, the man soared into the air once more and flew over to hover above the Trix, looking down on the witches with an almost disapproving expression on his face. He opened his mouth and recited a spell, the language he spoke in old and flowing and indecipherable as more golden magic poured from him.

“What are you doing?” Icy snarled, all she managed to say, before the golden light overwhelmed the three of them and they disappeared.

Again satisfied that his work was done, the man turned away as though preparing to leave. Sky, Stella, and Layla watched, mouths hanging open in awe of his power, but Bloom found herself stepping forward and calling after him.

“Hey! Wait!” The man stopped, half turning back to her with an enigmatic smile. “You saved our lives.”

He raised an eyebrow, and when she didn’t say anything else, said simply, “Yes, I did.”

“Thank you. But how did you know we were down here?”

The man’s smile grew slightly. “Just a hunch.”

“But-”

“I need to go. And you all should too, it’s not safe down here. I have a feeling though, that we might meet again one day soon.” And with that last, cryptic statement, another bright gold light appeared, and the man disappeared into it.

“Well, that was kind of weird,” Layla said, frowning at the spot where the man had disappeared.

“Who cares? That guy was  _ hot.” _

“And pretty brave to take on those witches like that,” Bloom said, and Layla nodded grudgingly. “I just wonder why he thinks we’re going to meet again soon.”

“I don’t know, but he is right that we should probably get out of here,” Sky said, looking over his shoulder into the depths of the castle. Nothing stirred which almost made him more nervous.

“The pixies-?”

“Waiting for us in the tunnel,” Layla finished.

“So we can get out of here then?” Stella asked, already leading the others over to the bridge.

“I think that guy was a paladin,” Sky said to the others after they’d hustled across the bride and begun the trek back around the edge of the cavern.

“The wings and the gold magic are right for a paladin,” Layla agreed.

“What’s a paladin?”

“Another class of magic user,” Stella said. “They study lots of different branches of magic so most of them are total book worms but that guy…” she trailed off, pretending to fan her face.

“Do they work for the Guardian Network?” Bloom wanted to know. “Maybe that’s why he was-”

“Oh, who cares why he was here? All that matters is we’re safe now, the pixies are safe, and we can finally go rescue Brandon.”

For the first time, Layla seemed inclined to agree with Stella. “Speaking of the pixies,” she muttered to herself just as the entrance to the tunnel came into view, and she put on a burst of speed.

Stella was hot on her heels, leaving Sky to share a commiserating glance with Bloom as they too followed.

“Guys,” Layla was calling out softly to the pixies when they arrived. “Guys, it’s safe to come out now.”

One by one, peeking out from behind stalagmites, stalactites, and ridges in the walls, the pixies appeared, casting around nervous looks before they eagerly threw themselves at Layla.

“You did it,” they cheered, their little voices overlapping each other. “You got us out!”

“Well,” Layla said modestly. “I had help. Guys, these are… these are my new friends, Bloom, Stella, and Sky. And this is Digit, Chatta, Zing, Jolly, Amore, Tune, and Lockette,” she said, pointing to each of them in turn.

Bloom, Sky, Stella, and the pixies each chorused greetings to each other, but it was Amore, one of the tallest of the pixies who broke ranks first, zooming across the space between them and circling around Stella.

“You’re so beautiful,” she gushed in a musical voice.

“Why thank…” Stella trailed off as Amore came to a stop in front of her and the two locked eyes for the first time. “Oh my gosh, I love your outfit,” she said, eyes running over the flower crown nestled in Amore’s long brown hair, and sweet, little pink dress.

“Stella’s returning a compliment?” Sky muttered to Bloom and Layla.

The latter gave a little gasp, eyes flicking between the fairy and pixie. “Oh, they’re bonding,” she said, a note of excitement creeping into her voice. “Amore’s been talking about finding her bonded fairy as long as I’ve known her.” She noticed the confusion on Sky’s face and tried to explain. “Some people equate it to love at first sight, or finding your soulmate, but I don’t think that’s quite right. It’s more like friendship at first sight; there’s just this feeling that you would do anything to protect them, and the knowledge that they would stand by you no matter what.”

“I’m a pixie of love,” Amore was telling Stella.

“And I’m the crown Princess of Solaria.”

“I’ve always wanted to visit Solaria! What’s it like?”

Another pixie came over to settle on Layla’s shoulder while Stella launched into a detailed description of her home planet for Amore.

“Isn’t that so exciting for Amore, Layla?” she said, hanging onto one of the fairy’s curls for balance. “Very exciting,” she repeated, glancing around nervously. “But when are we going to keep going? Monsters could come-”

Her eyes met Bloom’s and her nervousness seemed to melt away. The redhead heard herself let out a quiet “oh” as that rush of feelings Layla had described washed over her. It was like cracking her knuckles, or putting in the last piece of a puzzle, the feeling of something right clicking into place.

“You have a very complex heart, did you know?” Lockette said, pushing off from Layla’s shoulder to fly over to Bloom. “So many hidden passageways.”

“Really?” Bloom breathed. “I love your hair.” She indicated Lockette’s pink hair that was cut into a sweet bob to her chin and was held back by two clips.

“Is it always like this?” she heard Sky say distantly, and Layla chuckle in response.

“Always. It’s the endorphins of the bond settling in, it makes them gush. I think the time after my bond with Piff settled in is the most I’ve ever heard her say in one go without falling asleep.”

“You’re the Princess of Sparx, right? I read all about your battle with the witch Icy in the Pixie Post. You must be so brave.”

“Not as brave as you coming with Layla to rescue your friends.”

Lockette blushed and shrugged bashfully, before coming to settle on Bloom’s shoulder. The redhead found she quite liked the weight of her sitting there, like something had been missing but she’d never realised it.

“-a paladin came and helped you?” The pixie, Digit, was saying to Layla. “How strange. I wish I had a connection down here, I would be able to see if the Guardian Network had someone scheduled to patrol this region. I guess it’ll have to wait until we get back home.”

“Which,” Stella broke in, visibly forcing herself to stop gushing over Amore. “Isn’t happening until we save my boyfriend, right?!”

Oh my Dragon,” Amore breathed, staring up at Stella with shining eyes. “You have to rescue your one true love? How romantic.”

“Yes, yes, so adorable,” Tune said impatiently, her eyes glinting with interest. “What’s this about a rescue operation? What’s the plan?”

“Let’s walk and talk,” Layla suggested, casting a quick glance at Shadowhaunt’s cavern that remained just over their shoulders. The quicker they got away from that place the better off they’d be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends,
> 
> Well, we survived another month. And holy fuck what a month. I won't get into it much but I think anyone who's been online can attest to how crazy November has been already. But it's okay we survived to see another chapter.
> 
> Not much to say about this one, I'm pretty happy with it, even happier to see the Shadowhaunt arc start to wrap up because as much as I like it, it does drag on and it's just a lot of caves and monsters. I did enjoy putting in a few more character moments, especially between Stella and Layla since I think they have a really interesting dynamic at the start of season 2, and I love seeing how their friendship develops.
> 
> Not much to say besides that, I think. I start my christmas job on Monday so I'm going to try and get at least one more chapter out this year but I can't make any promises. As always go follow me at @gins-potter on tumblr for updates, and thank you everyone who reads, leaves kudos, and comments xxxx


	6. My Boyfriend's Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella and co crash a wedding, brandon picks up a new pet, and they all finally leave the Under Realms

“Stella, we need to rest.”

“No, what we  _ need  _ to do is keep moving.”

“We’re almost there and besides, look at Bloom, she can barely walk.”

“She’s fine, right Bloom?”

Bloom, who’s head had perked up at her name, scowled and ducked back down. Usually she would have just smiled at her friend’s bickering but instead irritation bubbled up in her chest, surprising her. Rather than snapping at them and saying something she would probably regret she focussed on putting one foot in front of the other, pretending like her leg wasn’t throbbing with every movement. “Don’t drag me into this.”

“I think Sky is right,” Layla said, looking as if she immediately regretted it when Stella spun around to pin her blazing glare on her. “Just that rescuing the pixies didn’t take as long as I thought it would. We’ve made good time back to Downland, we can afford to rest for a bit.”

Stella laughed scornfully. “You agree with Sky? Why am I not surprised?”

Layla’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously while Sky just looked bewildered by it all. Bloom’s frown deepened as she cut Stella a hard look.

“Enough Stel. How about we take a half an hour break to work out a plan and rest a bit and then we’ll keep moving? It’s got to be around lunchtime anyway.”

“I already have a plan,” Stella shot back, but still flopped down onto the ground with a sigh. “I’ll tell you what the plan is, I’m going in there, smacking Amentia around a little bit, and taking my boyfriend back.”

“That’s all well and good,” Sky said patiently as Bloom eased herself down onto the ground beside Stella. “But if we come up with a battle plan we’ll have a much better chance of success.”

“I like this boy,” Tune said, nodding in agreement as the others all found a spot to rest. “He’s absolutely correct.”

Chatta meanwhile was busy peering at Stella’s grumpy face. “I read in the Pixie Post the other day that being in love impairs your ability to think clearly.”

The endorphins of the bond settling into place might have worn off but Amore seemed no less inclined to defend her bonded fairy. “Love is about feeling,” she said. “Not about thinking.”

“Well,” Digit interjected. “Can you feel your way towards a plan that isn’t going to end with us locked in yet another cell? We’ve only just escaped the last one.”

Amore harrumphed and looked ready to bite back at Digit when Sky interjected. “Well, first we need to work out where Brandon is being kept. My best guess would be somewhere in the castle but it could be huge and searching the whole thing is going to take time. I’m assuming, Stella, that you remember enough to get us through the city to it.”

“I couldn’t forget the way if I tried,” Stella said, remembering the heartbreaking journey that she’d been forced on. She’d been weak and stumbling but that had been nothing compared to the pain of leaving Brandon behind.

“That’s good.”

“We also need to decide,” Tune began, flying over to settle on Sky’s knee and look up at him. “If we’re going to walk straight in and try to bluff our way into the castle, or if it would be better if we snuck in.”

“That’s a good point.”

“The trogs seemed friendly enough at first,” Stella said doubtfully. “But we all know how that ended.”

“I would be more comfortable if we went in as incognito as possible,” Layla said. “Something about just walking in and then having to sneak away to find Brandon makes me nervous.”

“I’m cool with sneaking in,” Sky said, and the others nodded their agreement. “Besides if we’re sneaking around we might be able to overhear something and find out when exactly the wedding is so we know how much time we have.”

“I’d be willing to bet the wedding will be soon, maybe even tonight,” Stella said. “Amentia didn’t strike me as the type who would want to wait. So we’d better get moving.”

The others exchanged amused glances at her less than subtle hint, but began packing up their things regardless. Short as the reprieve had been, it had given them a chance to have a drink and something to eat which had been enough to rejuvenate them. And besides they could see how worried Stella was for Brandon, and they were feeling much the same way.

“I can’t believe Amentia wants to marry a sixteen year old,” Bloom said, shaking her head as she shouldered her pack and set off. “That’s crazy. How old do you think she is?”

Stella shrugged. “Old enough to be a queen I guess. But it’s kind of hard to tell, they’re quite bizarre looking.”

“Well, I’m not getting married until I’m like thirty,” Bloom said decisively. She thought she saw Sky glance at her out of the corner of her eye but when she turned to look at him he was staring straight ahead.

Stella huffed. “That’s too old.”

“I thought you said magical beings could live for thousands of years?”

“Even longer,” Stella said, waving her hand dismissively. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get married when you’re still young enough to enjoy it.”

“You know,” Layla piped up. “There’s a realm in the eastern part of the Dimension where the concept of marriage doesn’t even exist. I always thought they had the right idea about it all.”

Bloom shot her a sidelong look. “I always thought royalty had to get married.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Layla said darkly. “My parents definitely expect me to. Which is why I’ll probably end up marrying someone they approve of.”

Sky made an emphatic noise under his breath, and this time Bloom was convinced he glanced at her.

“I’m going to get married when I’m 25,” Stella broke in, speaking fast like she was reciting from a long-ago written plan. “I’ll wear a dress that I’ve already designed, and the highest of Solarian society will be invited. Bloom, you’ll be my maid of honour and the other girls will be my bridesmaids.”

“Oh-” Bloom said, taken aback, but Stella wasn’t done.

“The colours will be gold and white, and everything will be glittery. The ceremony will take place when the sun is at its highest peak and the party will go all night.”

“Well-”

“That sounds-”

“Really-”

“Oh,” Stella said, abruptly distracted. “We’re here. Kinda bleak isn’t it?”

“I’ve seen nicer realms,” Bloom agreed, looking around at it all. Stella had seen the kingdom of Downland before but for the rest of them it was their first time and Bloom had to admit that while the mined crystals the Downladers had used to decorate the palace created a nice effect, even that couldn’t distract from the plain, boxy buildings, and lack of sunlight.

As a group they edged out of the tunnel and into the main cavern, ducking behind a large stalagmite so they could get their bearings. As they peered out from behind the rock, they could see a trog, tall and stacked with muscle, trudge past; the only thing marking him as a guard being the spiked club he dragged along the ground behind him as he looked more disinterested than on the lookout. They could only hope that all the guards were that derelict in their duty.

“Alright,” Bloom said, breathing a sigh of relief when the trog disappeared around a corner. Lockette, balanced on Bloom’s shoulder, did the same and wiped at her brow with the back of her hand. “Let’s go find Brandon, but stay out of sight and keep the noise down.”

Everyone in their little party nodded in agreement and slipped out from behind the stalagmite. There was a bit of space between the cave entrance to where the city proper began but luckily for them it was broken up by rocks of various sizes, giving them at least some kind of cover as they traversed the space.

Those of the pixies who preferred not to ride on the shoulders of the girls and Sky, flew along close to the ground, their miniature wings fluttering hard to keep them just above the rocky surface. Being so much smaller they were able to hide behind any of the rocks whereas the others were forced to split up and pick their hiding places wisely.

For instance, Bloom and Lockette had been in the middle of following Sky towards the next stalagmite before realising too late that they’d misjudged it and there was no way for all three of them to fit behind it side-by-side. Bloom skidded to a stop, trying to ignore Lockette’s quiet yelp of fear as she looked around desperately for somewhere else to hide. She was so distracted that she hadn’t noticed the looming shadow of an approaching trog about to turn the corner. Luckily Sky had been keeping an eye out so he was able to grab Bloom’s hand and yank her towards him, just in time to press them both behind the rock as the trog appeared.

Bloom held her breath and tried not to think about the solid wall of muscle she was pressed up against, as they waited for the guard to pass. Unfortunately, this one seemed even lazier than the last and had stopped to lean up against the wall of the last building on the block, seemingly more interested in picking at his fingernails than continuing on his patrol.

Sky glanced sideways at Stella, who immediately catching his meaning, dared to peek out from behind the rock she was using as cover. She bit her lip and shook her head, letting them know that it was no good; the trog was showing no indication of moving soon.

Sky turned to Layla instead.

“We need a distraction,” he mouthed to her, and Layla cocked her head as she thought.

For the first time, she wished she had Piff with her, as the pixie could have easily snuck up on the trog unsuspected and doused him with her special Sweet Dream Dust, rendering him almost immediately unconscious. But Piff was far, far away from this dangerous place, and she was left to figure out a solution all on her own.

Layla closed her eyes, letting her focus sharpen as she discerned the water sources around Downland, most of it trapped beneath them in the plumbing system. Finally she felt some of it begin to move as someone in the next street over turned on a tap on in their home. A mischievous grin slipped into place as she urged the water to rush faster than the pipes would usually allow, and then for good measure urged the other pipes to open as well, flooding the home.

They heard a distant yelp followed by a much louder scream for help, and Stella grinned as the trog jerked upright, his gaze swinging around in the direction of the voice.

“Help! Someone help me! There’s water everywhere!”

Rolling his eyes a little, the trog pushed away from the wall and ambled away; helping the owner of the voice was likely not in his job description, but he looked bored enough to at least investigate the source of the disruption. The group waited until he had disappeared out of sight to exchange grins and sneak into the next street over, thankful to find it deserted.

“I’m sure there were more trogs around before,” Stella murmured, looking less than reassured by the emptiness. “I wonder where they all are.”

Sky looked similarly concerned. “I don’t know where they are, but I do know that they could be back at any moment. And I think we can agree that we don’t want to get caught sneaking around.”

They tried to hurry along the street as much as possible, but the cobblestones that the trogs had paved the road with were incredibly uneven, and the toe of Stella’s boot caught on one, causing her to sprawl gracelessly on the ground.

“Shit,” Stella yelped loudly. Bloom doubled back for her, while Sky and Layla looked around worriedly, sure that her voice had to have attracted attention in the otherwise quiet road.

Sure enough they heard the shuffling footsteps coming from a nearby side street, and so, exchanging wide-eyed looks, the group of friends paused in horror before bursting into action. Sky strode to the nearest building and peeked through one of the windows, which was little more than an empty frame with a bit of patterned fabric as a semblance of privacy. After confirming that it was indeed empty, he yanked open the front door and gestured for the pixies to enter. Layla hung around nearby, keeping her eyes on the intersecting street, ready to leap into action when the trog arrived. Bloom, meanwhile, looped her arm around Stella’s waist and hauled her friend to her feet, ignoring the blood trickling from the cut on her knee. Stella, with Bloom’s help limped through the doorway, with Sky and Layla bringing up the rear.

They found themselves in the kitchen of what had to be a trog’s home, and while the pixies immediately found hiding places under the various bowls, cups, and pots lining the shelves, Bloom, Stella, Sky, and Layla looked around desperately for somewhere large enough to conceal themselves. Finally they had no choice but to duck under the twin window sills, Layla on one side, and Stella and Bloom on the other, all just hoping that if the trog peeked in he wouldn’t look down.

Sky, meanwhile, chose to simply lean against the wall between the door and one of the windows, preferring to be on his feet in case the trog found them. And he was most certainly looking for them, any hope that he hadn’t heard Stella’s yell vanishing when they heard a gruff voice call out, “Who’s there?! Show yourselves!”

Hardly daring to breathe the four of them pressed themselves further against the wall as those shuffling footsteps drew closer and closer. A shadow passed over Stella and Bloom’s window and paused outside the door, prompting Sky’s hand to drift towards the sword tucked into his belt. Layla, catching the movement, held up a hand to stop him and he caught her gaze, a silent exchange occurring before Sky acquiesced with a nod. He let his hand rest on the hilt but made no further movement to draw it out.

Layla, it turned out, had been right to wait to attack, because after another moment the shadow appeared behind her window as it moved on. And within a few minutes the shuffling footsteps had disappeared out of hearing range completely.

“Are you okay?” Bloom breathed to Stella, who was sitting beside her with her eyes shut and head tilted back against the rough stone. Sky and Layla were peeking out the slits in the curtains, trying to determine if the coast was clear.

“Yeah,” Stella murmured, but her voice sounded weak to Bloom, and she hadn’t opened her eyes. “Just being down here, you know?”

“Yeah.”

Being in Shadowhaunt itself had been worse but Downland was hardly any better for their waning powers, and Bloom herself could feel it’s effect begin to plague her and when she glanced at Layla she thought she could see exhaustion beginning to line her new friend’s face. Glancing back at her blonde friends, she found herself wondering if being a fairy of the sun made Stella even more susceptible to the Under Realm’s weakness. This did not bode well for their rescue mission but they didn’t have any other choices if they wanted to get Brandon back before his wedding.

Bloom quickly checked out Stella’s injured knee, relieved to see that upon closer inspection that it was only a graze and had already stopped bleeding. That, at least, would save them time and energy having to tend to it, not that she thought Stella would tolerate the delay in the first place.

“I think we’re clear,” Layla said quietly, still peering around the curtain. “Ready to go?”

The pixies slipped out from underneath the crockery and joined them by the door as Layla took a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing.”

Not wasting any time, Layla pulled the door open, stepped outside and began to walk up the street, the others hurrying after her. They’d been in such a rush to get away from the house that they didn’t notice a pair of trogs coming their way, and who had seen the entire thing.

“Hey! What were you doing in my house! Thieves! Intruders! Help!”

“Run!” Sky yelped and at hearing the thundering footsteps of approaching guards, they all broke into a run.

Unfortunately, while Bloom, Stella, Layla, and Sky had the foresight to stick together as they pelted down the street, the pixies instincts were to scatter and find somewhere to hide. Being much smaller than other creatures in the Magical Dimension it was hard wired into them to use their size to their advantage and find a defensible position to attack their enemies from.

They zig zagged to and fro, ducking down side alleys, and turning sharp corners, trying to out fly the single trog that had chosen to chase after them, leaving the others to track down their friends. The guard made a strong effort, but the pixies' ability to fly over walls and dip in and out of buildings gave them an added advantage and eventually they left her far behind.

“Nicely done, ladies!” Chatta said, nodding with satisfaction.

“Wait,” Tune interrupted, looking around at their little group with narrowed eyes. “Where’s Amore?”

The others looked around themselves, as if expecting the missing pixie to suddenly materialise within their midst.

“Curses! She must have fallen behind!”

“What do we do?” Lockette asked unhappily. “Do we go back for her or try and find the fairies?”

“The fairies,” Tune said decisively, at the same time Chatta said, “We got back for her!”

The two pixies glared at each other.

“We have to go back for our friend!”

“No, we should go find the fairies. We only have so much time to rescue Brandon before the wedding, and don’t you think Amore would prefer we save her bonded fairies’ true love?” The last part of her sentence was said rather scornfully but Chatta only narrowed her eyes.

“And besides,” Digit chimed in. “It’s entirely possible that Amore has already met back up with the fairies.”

“Exactly. Now, Lockette…” Tune trailed off expectantly, and Lockette startled a little as the group's attention shifted to her.

“Oh, right,” she said, and she tugged one of her clips from her hair. She tossed it up into the air, triggering the transformation into the sceptre. She caught it, and looked around nervously like she was expecting a trog to lunge at them out of nowhere, and for a moment nothing happened. Her friends were wondering if she was too nervous for her magic to work, when her sceptre’s gem began to glow and the pixie nodded decisively. “They’re close by. This way.”

She lead them over a nearby wall to find Bloom, Sky, Stella, and Layla in the very next alley over, crowding in the shadows to hide from the guards roaming about on the street nearby.

“Lockette!” Bloom whispered in relief, and the pixie quickly flew over to settle on the redhead’s shoulder.

“Are you guys alright?” Layla asked, eyes sweeping over each of the pixies to make sure they were unharmed.

“We’re fine-” Zing began.

“Wait! Where’s Amore?!”

The others shushed Stella, but luckily the trogs hadn’t heard her. Chatta, meanwhile, was glaring at Tune, who had the decency to bite her lip and duck her head.

“We got separated. We were hoping she had found her way back to you guys.”

“So you didn’t even try and look for her,” Stella hissed, looking livid.

“Stella, calm down-”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! First my boyfriend gets captured by some wannabe cave queen, and now my bonded pixie is missing. She’s  _ tiny,  _ anything could happen to her-”

“She’s more than capable of taking care of herself,” Layla said firmly. “Pixies are small, but they know how to handle themselves.”

All the pixies, even Lockette who still looked worried for her friend, nodded in agreement.

“In fact it’s a common misconception that the bonding between a fairy and pixie is for purely the pixies benefit and that they need the protection of a fairy, when in fact the bonding is mutually beneficial for  _ both  _ parties,” Digit added, an edge to her voice.

“I’m sorry,” Stella sighed. “I didn’t mean to offend you guys or anything, I’m just… I’m just worried, okay? And I guess I let myself be fooled by your size, I’m sorry.”

“ _ Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge.”  _ When Stella just stared at Digit uncomprehendingly, the pixie sighed. “It is not ignorance itself that prevents one from learning, but it is a failure to acknowledge that that ignorance exists.”

Stella shook her head, still clearly at a loss and Tune cut in with an exasperated sigh.

“What Digit is  _ trying  _ to say is that as long as you know now that we can look after ourselves, it’s all good.”

The corners of Stella’s mouth lifted slightly, but before she could respond, her eyes had widened at something she saw in the mouth of the alley.

“Sky!” she cried. “Watch out-”

Sky twisted, already swinging his sword up in a wide arc, but he didn’t quite move fast enough to evade the club that came cracking down on his skull. He stumbled to the side, hissing in pain, while Bloom wasted no time conjuring a strand of fire, and whipping it at the trog. It wrapped itself around the guard’s ankle and she yanked it taught, bringing him down with a crash.

“Sky,” she exclaimed, rushing to his side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He swiped at the cut on his forehead impatiently. “We need to get out of here before more come.”

Sky hadn’t spoken a moment too soon because the second their little group came crashing out of the alley, a squad of trog guards appeared at the other end of the street, approaching fast.

“This is where a plan would have been good,” Layla said, voice unreasonably calm despite the threat.

“Let’s improvise… run!”

The pixies could fly as fast as the girls and Sky could run, so they quickly turned on their heel and took off, pushing themselves hard to keep the guards a healthy distance behind them.

“Incognito's surely out of the question now,” Bloom said between deep, panting breaths. “On to Amentia’s castle?”

“That’s right.”

Stella used her long legs to her advantage and pulled ahead a little so she could lead the way, but was surprised when she turned her head to see Layla easily keeping pace with her, looking hardly out of breath despite the fast pace she had set. The beginning stirrings of curiosity tugged at Stella, as she wondered what Layla’s home life had been like for her to be so fit; a running track was hardly a common fixture in royal palaces.

She was distracted however by the shrill screech of a whistle coming from behind them. They couldn’t afford to look behind them as that would be sure to slow them down, but Stella was sure it had to be coming from the guards.

“What do you think that’s for?” Stella gasped out.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think we want to find out.” Layla’s pale eyes swept the road ahead of them for reinforcements or any other new threat but all she could see was Amentia’s castle growing larger as they drew nearer. They were so close and the entire group put on a burst of speed.

But there was a sudden and loud crash followed by a large plume of dust and debris as something crashed through the nearby cavern wall. And then, moving faster than seemed physically possible for a creature of its size, a gigantic worm threw itself across the next intersection, blocking their way.

The creature itself was massive, easily three times taller than Sky, the tallest amongst them, and boasting an impressive girth that meant that it filled the street easily but wasn’t quite big enough to damage any of the nearby buildings. It’s skin was the same sickly yellow as the trog’s, and rather than a face, it merely had a large mouth that was full of rows and rows of sharp teeth which it snapped lazily in their direction.

The approaching footsteps from behind slowed and then stopped and as a group they turned to find the trog squadron closing in on them, each wearing a smug smile. The group of friends exchanged glances, each begging the others to come up with some sort of plan or idea but it was useless, they were well and truly trapped.

Hiding in the shadows of a large, square building, Amore bit her lip, helpless to do anything but watch as her friends were cornered by the trogs and hauled off. This rescue mission of theirs was getting more and more complicated by the minute, and Amore had no clue what she was supposed to do next. Had there only been one or two trogs capturing her friends she might have been able to use a bit of her charmspeak to convince the guards to let them go. But as it was there was no way she would be able to enthrall all six of the guards currently hauling them away before one of them grabbed her.

Which left her with only one course of action: to stall the wedding through any means possible.

She silently vowed to her friend’s retreating backs that she would find a way to free them before twisting around in midair and darting along the street, the impressive palace looming in the distance. The streets were largely empty, but occasionally the pixie was forced to take cover in an alley or doorway when a trog appeared and hurried past, many holding large platters of food or extravagant decorations.

Amore was nearing the castle, still with no clear plan of  _ how  _ she was going to stall the wedding, when an intense wave of emotion surged through her. On instinct the pixie paused in midair, looking around to see if she could identify the source. As a pixie of love, Amore was sensitive to the feelings of those around her, particularly those associated with romance, like the passion and happiness of a relationship, or the despair and anguish of heartbreak, and right now she was being bowled over by the intense waves of sadness in the air.

Amore wavered, torn between continuing on her mission as she knew she probably should, and locating the source of that heartache; it went against her instincts to leave someone suffering with that sort of pain.

She heard a sniffle coming from a side-street off to her right, and decided to take a quick peek to see if she could help. If not she would have to move on.

The trog she came across was sprawled on the ground, slumped back against a low brick wall as he drank deeply from a large, red bottle. More of the same bottles, only empty, littered the ground around his feet. Amore’s heart ached for the man and she had no choice but to fly closer.

“Oh,” she sighed, the depth of his feelings hitting her as she got closer. “You’re suffering from a broken heart, I can sense it.”

The trog swallowed roughly and lowered the bottle, not seeming to notice the trickle of liquid that spilled down his pointed chin. “You’re right about that,” he said thickly, and a collection of tears trickled down his cheek.

“If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s heartbreak,” Amore said, gazing at him sadly. “What’s your name?”

“I’m so thirsty,” the trog mumbled more to himself than Amore, before seeming to register her question. “Sponsus.”

The name rang familiar in her head and Amore was almost certain that Stella had mentioned that a trog named Sponsus had been the one to find her and Brandon and take them to Amentia.

“It’s because you’ve cried so much,” Amore explained, filing away that bit of information. “You’re dehydrated.”

She covertly sniffed the air and was relieved that the liquid in the bottles was revealed to be only water. An impaired Sponsus would not do to help anyone.

“I lost my one true love, my one, and only soulmate,” Sponsus told Amore, more tears streaming down his cheeks. “She’s getting married.”

As if on cue, they heard a chorus of trumpets play a lively, ringing tune, from the direction of the castle. Amore cocked her head, an idea beginning to form.

At the sound of the trumpets, Sponsus sobbed. “That’s her. Her wedding will be starting soon, and I still need to deliver the flowers.”

“The queen?”

“Yes. I’m the only one who has experience with flowers so they had me take care of the arrangements for the ceremony. Have you ever felt the pain of gathering the flowers so your one true love could marry someone else?”

“No, that must have been horrible,” Amore said vaguely, mind working fast.

Sponsus gave another loud, shuddering sob, bringing Amore’s attention back to him with a stab of sympathy.

“Sponsus,” she said kindly, coming to rest on his knee so she could peer up into his face. “I’m going to help you but I need you to take me to where the flowers are.”

Sponsus blinked at her blearily through his tears and for a moment Amore thought she might have to use her charmspeak to nudge him along. But then he scooped Amore off his knee and pushed himself upright.

“They’re just in here,” he explained, showing Amore into the house who’s wall he’d leant against. “I had to get away from the sight.”

“You did a beautiful job,” she gushed at the sight of the pink, red, and pale orange blossoms Sponsus had arranged into bouquets, wreaths, and garlands.

He hiccuped and sniffled a bit. “I wanted her wedding to be beautiful, even if it’s to someone else.”

Amore patted his hand comfortingly, and flew over to the workbench holding all the flowers.

“Is this Amentia’s bouquet?” she asked, coming to settle near the largest of them, and Sponsus nodded.

Amore cocked her head as she thought before seeming to come to a conclusion as she reached up and plucked a flower from her own flower crown. Nestled amongst the buds was a single solid gold blossom which she withdrew and held reverently in her hands. Then closing her eyes she plucked a single petal from the flower head and murmured a quiet spell under her breath. She kept chanting until the golden petal had transformed into a flower the exact same hue as the red in Amentia’s bouquet. She tucked her golden flower, which had already regrown it's plucked petal, back into her crown, before settling the new flower into the bouquet.

“This is what some might call a soulmate blossom,” she explained to Sponsus as she worked, the trog watching her with wide eyes. “But I don’t really believe in one true love and this blossom can’t force Amentia into feelings she doesn’t already have. What it  _ does  _ do is bring clarity to anyone who breathes in it’s scent, and helps them be honest with themselves about their romantic feelings.”

_ Which,  _ Amore added silently,  _ will hopefully result in Amentia realising she doesn’t really want to marry Brandon. The queen realising she actually loves Sponsus would be a nice bonus. _

Sponsus turned his big, watery eyes on Amore. “Do you think it will work?”

Amore didn’t want to lie to him and was saved having to answer by the sudden and harried knock at the front door, which left the pixie just enough time to duck behind Sponsus before palace workers were hurrying inside.

“Is everything ready?” one of the trogs asked, already gathering up the flowers and rushing out again. “The guests will be arriving any minute.”

“There better not be any wilted petals,” another trog muttered, leaving with his arms full.

“Go with them,” Amore whispered, nudging Sponsus lightly in the back.

“But-”

“Go,” she hissed and Sponsus lumbered after the palace workers. If the soulmate blossom didn’t work, Amore needed to be on hand to come up with a new plan and Sponsus was the best way to get in undetected.

The dread Brandon felt as he stood at the window and watched the first of the wedding guests begin to arrive in the courtyard below was visceral; his stomach had sunk to somewhere around his feet, while his heart had jumped to his throat, and his hands had grown damp with sweat.

“My friends are coming for me,” he said with more assurance than he felt as he forcefully wiped his palms off on the skirt of the toga he’d been forced into for the wedding. The garment left his entire chest on display, but for the rich, red ceremonial cape that fastened around his shoulders with an ornate gold clasp. Armbands of a deep russet matched a headband of the same colour, which he wore, he supposed, as a stand-in for the crown that was eventually to come. He assumed, at least, that as the queen’s consort there would be crowns involved.

“You keep telling yourself that,” a hoarse voice said suddenly, yanking Brandon from his thoughts.

He whipped around, his sandaled feet sliding soundlessly on the marble floors. He’d been in his quarters for much of the day, completely alone but for the canary yellow bird in the gilded cage in the corner. The doors hadn’t opened once since Brandon had been escorted here, and he was sure a squad of guards were waiting outside to make sure he didn’t try and make a break for it. Surely either they, or he, would have noticed someone trying to sneak in.

“Who said that?” he demanded, eyes tracking along the curtains bunched up in the corner, before shifting to underneath the large four-poster bed; anywhere someone might have been able to hide. He reached for his sword, remembering too late that his weapons had been confiscated the moment Amentia’s guards had dragged him into the castle. He hoped that he’d have a chance to get them back before he left.

If he ever left.

Gritting his teeth, Brandon balled his hands into fists, sliding into the fighter’s stance drilled into them at Red Fountain as he said again, “Who’s there?”

“Relax, bruiser,” came that voice again, followed by a strange screech. 

Brandon frowned, pivoting towards the back corner of the room, thinking it had almost sounded like a bird’s squawk…

“You!”

The bird, still locked behind those golden bars, was staring straight at him, head slightly tilted and eyes bright with an awareness that seemed beyond an ordinary songbird. Brandon slowly approached, eyes narrowed.

“You… you can’t talk, right?”

There was a beat of silence, long enough that Brandon had begun to shake his head, wondering if he was losing his grip on reality, then, “The hell I can’t.”

He might not have believed it had he not seen the bird’s beak move right as that hoarse voice spoke again. Not that it was so odd to come across a talking animal, this was the Magical Dimension after all, there were all manner of things that could speak, but it was more that Brandon had been confined to these quarters for hours now and the bird had shown no indication it could speak until now.

“Okay, so you can talk,” Brandon said, still trying to wrap his head around it. “Any reason you chose until now to reveal that?”

The bird jerked it’s wings, it’s version of a shrug, Brandon supposed. “You didn’t seem particularly interesting until now.”

He ignored the jab. “I don’t suppose you know a way out of here then?”

“Do you think I’d still be here if I did?” The bird stared mournfully at it’s cage, and Brandon sighed, moving back to the window. It was of course impossible to know without a clock but Brandon was sure the afternoon was slowly marching on, and judging by how crowded it had become in the courtyard, it wouldn’t be much longer until the wedding began.

His wedding.

He gulped and glanced at the bird. “What are you doing here anyway?” He asked more to distract himself rather than out of a real interest for the answer.

The bird squawked again. “The queen went through a bird phase when she was younger, and insisted that her parents import a flock of us. She lost interest pretty quickly one she realised how much mess a confined bird could make. I’m the only one left now.”

“That’s rough, buddy.”

The bird clicked it’s beak. “Indeed. And soon you’ll know exactly how I feel. The only thing worse than being stuck in this cage, would be if I was stuck in here with  _ her.” _

“Great,” Brandon muttered. “Real reassuring.”

The doors to his quarters opened before the bird had a chance to respond and Brandon felt his heart lift for half a moment before he saw the guards looking in at him, faces blank.

“It’s time. Her Royal Highness, Queen Foeda, has arrived to escort you to the altar.”

“The queen’s mother,” the bird told Brandon in a low voice.

Queen Foeda stalked into the room, the ground seeming to tremble in her wake at the power she exuded, and Brandon looked up and up and up at her. Now, while Brandon might be the shortest of his male friends, he was not what anyone would consider small, not with all the muscle he’d gained training at Red Fountain. But Queen Foeda dwarfed him so completely in both height and breadth that he felt that she would be able to snap him in half if he so much as put a toe out of line.

The queen’s thick, red lips turned up into a dangerous smile at the sight of him, and Brandon wondered if he hadn’t come face to face with the one trog more dangerous than Amentia herself.

But all Foeda said was, “I’m so delighted to finally meet the man who’s going to tend to my daughter’s every need.”

It was the manners drilled into him from a lifetime of living and working at a royal court that had Brandon bowing deeply and mumbling, “The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness.”

Her large eyes flicked over him, assessing what she saw. “I suppose you look acceptable,” she decided finally, before chuckling darkly. “And if not, it’ll be your head Amentia will have.”

Brandon gulped, mind scrambling as he tried to conjure up a plan, an idea,  _ anything,  _ to stall this wedding and give his friends time to find him. Because they were coming. They  _ had  _ to be coming.

“Maybe we should postpone, make sure I’m really ready-”

“Nonsense,” she barked, her rough voice so at odds with the smile still on her face. “Everything’s ready, and Amentia is waiting for you. Everything will be perfect, and if it isn’t, it’ll be the dungeons for you.” She gave a horrible, cackling laugh at the thought but it quickly died when she stepped towards him and he skittered backwards on instinct.

Behind him, Brandon thought he heard the bird give a low, warning caw but forced himself to ignore it. He had one card left to play and it was time to throw it down.

“Your Highness,” he said carefully, drawing on every time he’d seen Sky, Erendor, or Samara have to handle a diplomatic matter. “You should know that I’m the squire to Prince Sky of Eraklyon. And I’m personally responsible for his safety. The Traherne Royal Family rely on me a great deal.”

A possible stretching of the truth perhaps, Brandon thought it was a tossup if Erendor actually remembered his name on any given day, but the words were enough that they implied exactly what he wanted Foeda to think: he was important, he was valuable, possibly enough so that the Eraklyon royal family would go to war to get him back.

Because despite all their bravado, Downland was tiny compared to the vastness of Eraklyon and it’s armies. It would require but a fraction of them to crush the queen’s guards and take him back. And by the smallest flicker of worry in Foeda’s eyes, he knew that she knew that already.

For a moment she wavered and he thought he had her; Foeda might not be the reigning Queen any longer but she would certainly have sway over her daughter. But then something in Foeda’s spine stiffened and she looked down her nose at Brandon and he knew it had been for naught.

“That’s nice, dear,” she sniffed, her cold tone suggesting it was anything but. “But what my daughter wants is you, and she is the queen, and what the queen wants, the queen gets. It’s time for us to go down.”

Brandon tried to protest, but Queen Foeda was having none of his excuses, and was already striding over to him so she could seize his arm and loop it through her own. She frog-marched him from the room, past the passive faced guards, and into the hallway beyond. The bird, trapped in it’s gold cage, watched them leave until the doors swung shut, blocking them from view.

“Good luck,” he said to the empty room; Brandon was going to need it.

Once the trogs called in the creature they referred to simply as the ‘guard worm’ it was pretty much all over for Layla, Stella, Bloom, Sky, and the pixies. With nowhere left to run, and not enough magic to take on the ever growing squadron of guards, the group had no choice but to submit willingly to their custody and allow themselves to be marched towards the castle where, presumably, they were to be thrown in the dungeons. They did so mostly in silence, but for exchanging the occasional words of comfort.

“You still have the PHA to contact the guys back at Red Fountain, right?” Bloom murmured to Sky.

“Yeah,” Sky reassured her, voice pitched equally as low. “I’ll wait until they throw us in a cell somewhere and hit the alert button; someone will be here in a couple hours.” Something of a bitter smile played around Sky’s mouth. “I don’t know what will happen, the Council might have to get involved and send someone from the Guardian Network. Riven’s never going to let us forget that we needed to be rescued.”

Bloom’s hand twitched with the urge to reach out and take his hand comfortingly, but she couldn’t break away from the tight grip of the trog who had bound her hands behind her back.

“Hey,” she said lightly so he would look at her. “It was a hard mission. And if Riven doesn’t think so, you send him to me and I’ll set him straight.”

Some of the edge left Sky’s expression as it was replaced with amusement. “I’d like to see that.”

“Hey!” one of the trogs barked at them. “Quiet! And hurry up!”

They shoved them along faster, the guards beginning to bicker amongst themselves.

“What’s the rush?” one of them whined.

“The wedding is about to start any minute,” another bit out. “And the way to the dungeons passes right over the courtyard.”

“The queen will have our heads if we ruin her wedding by walking prisoners through the middle of it.”

The trogs continued to argue but the others tuned out, brains already turning over the information. The wedding was still yet to start, which meant they had time still to stop it, if only they could escape their guards.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ll be upstanding while the groom makes his entrance, escorted by Her Highness, Queen Foeda.”

Brandon barely heard the words over the roaring in his ears, and if it wasn’t for the queen’s arm rigidly tucked through his, he thought his knees might have given out completely. As it was she supported most of his weight as she marched him up the aisle, to the tune of polite applause and ringing trumpets, past the rows upon rows of trogs, and deposited at the altar beside the celebrant.

Brandon turned numbly to face the guests assembled, and felt his chest tighten as his breaths came faster and faster. Someone was coming because they had to be coming, his friends would come, they wouldn’t abandon him-

The celebrant’s voice boomed again, jolting Brandon from his increasingly panicked thoughts. “Presenting the one and only, immaculately beautiful, and fabulously perfect, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Amentia! Escorted by His Highness, King Enervus!”

The trumpeters played with even more vigour, and the polite applause for Brandon turned into enthusiastic clapping and cheering for the queen. The twelve ladies of the court appeared at the end of the aisle first, having swapped their lavender gowns for ones of deep red and sporting elaborate hairstyles that swept their hair up, leaving their long necks bare. They danced their way down the aisle, moving their arms and swinging their hips to the trumpets’ music.

And then finally, on the arm of her father, Amentia appeared. The queen had been dressed in lush, bright fabrics of red, pink, and orange, draped around her in such a way that they left much of her lithe torso on display, covered her chest in overlapping colours, and gathered to fall in full skirts from her waist right down to the floor. Unlike her ladies, Amentia’s black hair fell in a perfect sheet down her back, rippling with every step she took, and on the very top of it all she wore a large and ornately designed golden crown.

The crowd roared for their queen, but Amentia barely glanced at them, her large eyes set on Brandon and pinning him to the spot where he stood at the other end of the courtyard. At least, Brandon thought distantly, he was fulfilling his mission as a hero and saving some poor trog from this fate.

But that wasn’t exactly fair, he realised, as Amentia reached the altar and turned to him, smiling shyly. He didn’t think that Amentia was a bad person deep down, even if she treated her subjects terribly sometimes. In his brief stay in Downland he’d also seen her working hard with her guards to make sure her realm was protected at all times, send food to struggling families, and mediate disputes between feuding trogs. She had it in her to be a great ruler, if she ever got past her spoiled upbringing and need to have everything she laid her eyes on.

“Isn’t he just the luckiest man alive?” the celebrant chortled, slapping Brandon on the shoulder, and the guests chorused their agreement right on cue while Amentia preened.

“Downlanders,” he continued, sobering a little as he looked around at all the trogs gathered. “We’re gathered here today to celebrate the blessed union of our beloved Queen Amentia to the Upworlder, Brandon. Brandon, if you’ll recite the sacred vow that Queen Amentia has requested.”

Brandon sighed and said blandly, “I promise perfection, cleanliness, and to provide everything Her Royal Majesty’s heart desires.”

“Marriage,” the celebrant droned on, reciting from a speech Brandon was sure that Amentia had provided. “Is a union where…”

He tuned out and glanced at Amentia, who was nodding in approval at everything the celebrant said.

“Amentia,” he hissed. Both the queen and the celebrant glared at him, the latter stumbling over his words for a moment before continuing. “Amentia, please, you don’t have to do this.”

“Quiet,” she snapped under her breath, fixing a rigid smile on her face.

The celebrant ignored them and continued, now asking if anyone objected to the union, and by the tone of his voice, it was clear the celebrant was internally advising anyone who did have an objection to hold their tongue for fear of Amentia’s wrath. Brandon almost spoke up himself, but he figured it was bad form for the groom to object to his own marriage.

Besides, it probably wouldn’t make a difference.

“Amentia,” he said again. “Amentia, you deserve someone who loves you with everything they have and everything they are, someone who understands your people and customs and will support you through your reign, someone,” he stressed. “Who actually  _ wants  _ to marry you.”

Amentia finally looked at him, blinking those large eyes slowly, and for a moment Brandon thought he’d finally gotten through to her. Then she said, “But I want you,” and it was clear that she had no clue that sometimes she wouldn’t be able to have absolutely everything she wanted.

His shoulders slumped as he turned back to the celebrant, his last hope dying in his chest.

“It is time,” the celebrant declared, spreading wide his arms that were ensconced in the large, billowing sleeves of his robe. “For the gifts of devotion.”

Two of the court ladies approached the altar, and the one closest to Brandon handed him a large bouquet of flowers to present to the queen, while the other held a velvet cushion upon which two golden rings sat. Idly, he wondered how they had managed to grow such beautiful flowers in a dim, lifeless place like the Under Realms.

Squaring his shoulders, Brandon turned to present the flowers to Amentia when his eyes caught on a group of trogs escorting prisoners across a bridge that spanned the courtyard, among them a familiar head of beautiful, blonde hair.

“Guys?!” The word burst from him on a yell, as he quickly recognised Bloom, Sky, and Layla as the other prisoners in the group. “Stella!”

At the sight of their friend, Layla, Bloom, Sky, and Stella each fought to free themselves with renewed vigor. They bucked and twisted and tried to break the grip of the trog’s holding them, but it was no use, the guards were too strong, and they were too weak. Caught up in the arms of another trog the pixies aimed spell after spell at their captor, but after all the time they’d spent in the Under Realms they were equally as weak.

“Brandon!” Stella screamed, and swiftly nailed a trog in the eye with her elbow in a bid to escape his clutches.

Amentia’s head snapped around to see the cause of the commotion and she stomped a sandaled foot at what she saw. “No!” she screeched. “They are ruining the backdrop of my wedding! I said no palace workers were to step foot on that bridge during the ceremony.” Her eyes cut to the numerous guards lining the walls of the courtyard. “Throw them all in the dungeon! Maybe then they’ll learn to obey orders.”

“Wait!” Brandon interjected, as the guards moved off to fulfill her commands. His eyes never left Stella’s distant form where to stop her from stomping on his feet, the guard holding her had hoisted her into the air, causing her to cry out in pain. “They’re my guests,” he said through gritted teeth, to stop himself from marching up there and ripping the trog’s hands off his girlfriend.

“Your- your what?” For the first time that Brandon had seen, Amentia seemed truly thrown.

“My guests,” he said again, brain spinning. “It could be your wedding gift to me, letting them stay.”

Amentia smiled slowly, and it was a fight for Brandon not to shudder. “Okay,” she said, her voice growing sweet once more, as though she thought she was finally winning Brandon over. “Put them in the back,” she said to her guards. “I’ll deal with them later.”

Brandon swallowed roughly at the words but didn’t argue, knowing this was the best chance they were going to get at escaping the clutches of Downland.

There was an uncomfortable sort of a silence, broken up only by the occasional cough or whisper as Stella, Sky, Bloom, Layla, and the pixies were escorted down to the courtyard and shoved into chairs in the back row.

“What do we do?” Bloom whispered to Sky.

Sky’s dark, blue eyes were scanning the courtyard, frantically taking in the rows of guards and trying to find a weakness he could use to his advantage, but finding none he could only shake his head and slump back in his seat. Stella meanwhile was sitting bolt upright in her chair, and staring, unblinking, at the altar where her boyfriend stood beside Amentia. Layla seemed the only one not totally absorbed with the proceedings and was looking around, trying to find the source of that familiar aroma of rose and chocolate that she could smell hanging in the air.

“Shall we continue?” the celebrant asked awkwardly, and Amentia merely waved a hand. “Right,” he said, shuffling his papers. “The gifts of devotion. The flowers stand as a symbol for the beauty of the bride, while the rings are tokens of your love. With these gifts we will seal the union. Amentia do you accept these gifts that Brandon offers to you?”

“Yes,” Amentia said simply. “I do.”

Among the guests, Stella inhaled sharply, her hand clenching tight around Bloom’s, while Brandon miserably handed the flowers over.

“They’re beautiful,” Amentia gushed, bringing the blossoms to her nose and inhaling deeply. “And they smell so…” she trailed off, her eyes unfocussing, before finishing in a whisper, “...divine.”

On the other side of Sky, Layla had jerked upright, her eyes bright with understanding, but she shook her head when the others looked at her in question.

At the altar, Amentia swayed a little, the flowers dropping to the ground, much to the astonishment of the guests gathered, and despite his feelings about her, Brandon found himself grabbing her elbow to steady her. The queen blinked and looked at him as if she were seeing him for the very first time.

“I don’t want to marry you,” she said quietly, but the courtyard had grown so silent that her words easily carried, and the guests erupted into whispers.

“Darling?” Foeda said uncertainly, leaning forward from her seat in the front row.

“Is this some sort of magical trickery?” Enervus demanded to know, glaring at Brandon.

Brandon opened his mouth to explain that he couldn’t even do magic, before Amentia cut in.

“I haven’t been tricked,” Amentia said firmly, taking one, two steps away from the altar. “I thought marrying Brandon was what I wanted but it’s not. I’d just convinced myself that it was. Or was what I should want. Or maybe it was what I wanted but for all the wrong reasons.”

“What  _ do  _ you want then, dear?” Foeda asked.

“I don’t know,” Amentia said, glancing down the aisle. “But I do know it’s not this.” A familiar looking trog with a pixie sitting on his shoulder had appeared at the other end of the courtyard and Amentia’s eyes lit up at the sight of him. “The wedding’s off, Brandon; try not to be too broken-hearted over it,” she tossed the words haughtily over her shoulder as she set off down the aisle, leaving Brandon, and everyone else, to stare after her, wondering what had just happened.

“So that’s how you escaped?” Riven asked, when hours later they were finally on the ship flying away and had finished telling him and Timmy all about their escapades through the Under Realms.

“Do we call it escaping if they just let us go?” Layla interrupted, looking up from the card game she was playing with Jolly.

“Not just let us go,” Sky agreed. “But sent us off with presents as well.”

Brandon nodded, arms slung around Stella’s shoulders as he nudged one of the bottles clustered on the ground with his tow. “Yeah, healing potions from Sponsus’ private stores. Apparently some of these are really rare; Saladin will love to have them in the infirmary.”

“Don’t forget about… it,” Riven added, glancing away from the horizon long enough to glance over his shoulder at their other present sitting in the corner of the ship’s flight deck.

“Yeah,” Brandon said, following his gaze. “Well…”

Sponsus had felt so bad about ruining the wedding, even if it had been what Amentia had really wanted deep down, that he’d had Amentia guarantee their safe passage out of the Under Realms, as well as allowing Brandon to take whatever he’d wanted from the palace… within reason of course. And well, there hadn’t been much that Brandon had wanted to bring with him, but this particular gift he would have felt bad about leaving behind…

“I am a him, not an it,” the bird croaked, snapping his beak in reproach, before hiding his head under his wing.

“Nice job,” Brandon sighed. The current plan was to take the bird back to Red Fountain and try and release him into the forest around the school. He shifted around, but settled fast enough however when Stella nestled in closer and he caught a whiff of her sweet smelling hair.

“I just love  _ love _ ,” Amentia said quietly watching them with adoring eyes.

Her declaration caught Riven’s attention and he glanced at her. “So, you really managed to rescue those guys, huh? With one of your flower things.”

“Yes. Why?”

“Nothing, nothing. You’re just awful small, aren’t you?”

“Amore’s actually quite tall for a pixie,” Zing said, completely oblivious while Digit and Tune zoomed over, their eyes narrowed and hands on their hips.

“What does Amore’s size have to do with anything?” Digit wanted to know.

“Yeah, she managed to solve the situation when no one else, and certainly no one who was  _ bigger  _ than her, could,” Tune added.

“I wouldn’t underestimate them,” Stella called from the other side of the ship. “I already made that mistake once today.”

“Hey, hey,” Riven said, lifting his hands from the pilot’s wheel long enough to raise them in surrender. “I was just asking, no offense meant. So how does it work? Did you flower manipulate her into thinking she’s in love with Sponsus?”

“Oh no,” Amore said, shaking her head so vehemently that her flower crown slipped down her head. “True love is about openness and honesty, it would be wrong to use my magic to trick or manipulate someone. My blossoms can’t manufacture feelings that aren’t already there, they merely open the person’s mind and heart to them.”

“So, why was she pretending that she didn’t like Sponsus?”

“People bury feelings of love and affection for lots of reasons,” Amore said sagely. “Sometimes they’re worried their families won’t approve, or that they or the other person isn’t ready so it’s easier to pretend like they feel nothing at all, or other feelings like grief or anger over power their feelings of love.” Amore’s eyes traced over Riven’s face and she cocked her head like she was seeing something beyond his features. “And sometimes,” she continued meaningfully. “A person is scared or thinks that they don’t deserve love.”

Riven stiffened, shifting his gaze so he was looking straight over Amore’s head at the clear black landscape of open space ahead of him.

“But they’re wrong to think like that,” she continued, her voice gentling. “Because no one is undeserving of love.”

And leaving him to mull on those words, Amore flew back over to Stella and Brandon, settling comfortably on the blonde’s shoulder so she could indulge in a well-deserved nap on the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me casually doing the walk of shame back in after a 2? 3? month hiatus. 
> 
> sorry about that guys, this chapter turned out to be a bear to write (if you follow me on tumblr you probably saw me whining about it) but we're here, it's done, they are finally out of the Under Realms. honestly i don't have much to say beyond that, i'm just glad this arc is done with and we can get on with the other s2 plots.
> 
> i'm more interested in how you guys are doing. i hope you all had a great christmas and start to 2021 (which has been fucking insane already right??). has anyone watched fate yet and if so what did you think? i'll keep it short and to the point, i watched it and didn't particularly like it. the whitewashing of flora and musa was always going to be a hard thing for me to get past, and for me personally i feel like the writing really didn't do the show any favours. but if any of you guys managed to get some enjoyment out of it, i'm glad :D
> 
> i am extremely excited to get cracking on this new chapter because it's where we get to meet avalon for real, layla starts to settle into the dorm, and all the girls are finally all back together again, it's going to be great.
> 
> i think that's everything for now. drop me a kudos if you haven't already, write me a comment telling me what you liked and didn't like about the chapter, and as always you are more than welcome to come chat with me on tumblr at @gins-potter. all my posts for this fic are tagged '#winx rewritten au' and you'll find plenty of extra content and tidbits about the fic so definitely go check it out :D until next time guys xx


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